Twice-poverty rates, domestic workers versus other workers, 2018, by demographic
| Domestic worker occupations | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child care workers | Home care aides | |||||||
| All other (nondomestic) workers | Domestic workers | Percentage-point difference | House cleaners | Nannies | Provider in own home | Non-agency-based | Agency-based | |
| All | 16.9% | 44.3% | 27.4 | 54.8% | 39.0% | 32.4% | 36.4% | 45.8% |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Female | 18.1% | 45.4% | 27.3 | 54.5% | 39.2% | 32.5% | 36.9% | 47.8% |
| Male | 15.8% | 31.0% | 15.2 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 28.7% |
| Nativity | ||||||||
| U.S.-born | 15.0% | 42.3% | 27.3 | 54.4% | 32.8% | 25.1% | 35.9% | 46.8% |
| Foreign-born U.S. citizen | 17.2% | 40.1% | 22.9 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 42.8% |
| Foreign-born noncitizen | 33.7% | 54.3% | 20.6 | 61.7% | NA | NA | NA | 44.2% |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 12.0% | 34.6% | 22.5 | 47.7% | 37.9% | 20.0% | NA | 36.5% |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 25.4% | 53.3% | 27.9 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 54.6% |
| Hispanic, any race | 29.8% | 54.4% | 24.6 | 60.6% | NA | NA | NA | 53.4% |
| Asian American/Pacific Islander | 13.7% | 33.9% | 20.3 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 35.3% |
| Other | 24.9% | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Education | ||||||||
| Not high school graduate | 40.9% | 55.8% | 14.9 | 59.3% | NA | NA | NA | 55.5% |
| High school graduate | 24.4% | 47.3% | 22.9 | 55.4% | NA | 31.7% | NA | 50.2% |
| Some college | 17.8% | 41.9% | 24.1 | NA | NA | 28.0% | NA | 45.1% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more | 6.7% | 27.0% | 20.3 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 21.2% |
| Age | ||||||||
| Under 23 | 29.7% | 43.7% | 13.9 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| 23–49 | 18.8% | 52.7% | 33.8 | 65.5% | NA | 41.5% | NA | 54.0% |
| 50+ | 10.4% | 33.9% | 23.5 | 41.8% | NA | 24.1% | NA | 35.0% |
Notes: The “twice-poverty rate” is the share of workers whose family income is below twice the official poverty line, and is often considered a better cutoff for whether a family is able to make ends meet. To ensure sufficient sample sizes, this table draws from pooled 2016–2018 microdata. “Foreign-born” refers to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth.
The “twice-poverty rate” is the share of workers whose family income is below twice the official poverty line, and is often considered a better cutoff for whether a family is able to make ends meet. To ensure sufficient sample sizes, this table draws from pooled 2016–2018 microdata. “Foreign-born” refers to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth. “Foreign-born noncitizen” includes foreign-born persons who are either lawful permanent residents, in a nonimmigrant status (migrants with temporary visas), or lacking an immigration status, including both unauthorized immigrants and those with lawful presence (such as DACA recipients and asylum applicants whose cases are in process).
Source: Economic Policy Institute (EPI) analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata