According to Census data released this past September, 1 in 6 Americans (43.6 million people) were living in poverty. However, the Census bureau recently revised its formula for calculating poverty and the new numbers show that even more Americans–47.8 million people, or 15.7% of the population–were living in poverty in 2009.
For more information:
- Read the Associated Press story
- Update: Read an issue brief about these new poverty numbers published by the Economic Policy Institute: Another look at poverty in the Great Recession
