Poverty rate, actual and simulated, 1959–2012
| Simulated poverty rate | Actual poverty rate | |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 22% | 22% |
| 1960 | 22% | 22% |
| 1961 | 22% | 22% |
| 1962 | 21% | 21% |
| 1963 | 20% | 20% |
| 1964 | 19% | 19% |
| 1965 | 17% | 17% |
| 1966 | 15% | 15% |
| 1967 | 15% | 14% |
| 1968 | 14% | 13% |
| 1969 | 13% | 12% |
| 1970 | 13% | 13% |
| 1971 | 13% | 13% |
| 1972 | 11% | 12% |
| 1973 | 9% | 11% |
| 1974 | 10% | 11% |
| 1975 | 10% | 12% |
| 1976 | 9% | 12% |
| 1977 | 7% | 12% |
| 1978 | 6% | 11% |
| 1979 | 5% | 12% |
| 1980 | 5% | 13% |
| 1981 | 5% | 14% |
| 1982 | 6% | 15% |
| 1983 | 4% | 15% |
| 1984 | 2% | 14% |
| 1985 | 0% | 14% |
| 1986 | 14% | |
| 1987 | 13% | |
| 1988 | 13% | |
| 1989 | 13% | |
| 1990 | 14% | |
| 1991 | 14% | |
| 1992 | 15% | |
| 1993 | 15% | |
| 1994 | 15% | |
| 1995 | 14% | |
| 1996 | 14% | |
| 1997 | 13% | |
| 1998 | 13% | |
| 1999 | 12% | |
| 2000 | 11% | |
| 2001 | 12% | |
| 2002 | 12% | |
| 2003 | 13% | |
| 2004 | 13% | |
| 2005 | 13% | |
| 2006 | 12% | |
| 2007 | 13% | |
| 2008 | 13% | |
| 2009 | 14% | |
| 2010 | 15.1% | |
| 2011 | 15% | |
| 2012 | 15% |
Note: Poverty rate is simulated by a model based on the relationship between per capita GDP growth and the official poverty rate between 1959 and 1973.
Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Historical Poverty Tables (Tables 2 and 4) and Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income Product Accounts public data. Analysis using Sheldon Danziger and Peter Gottschalk's 1995 book, American Unequal (Russell Sage Foundation and Harvard University Press).