2006 State Report > Economics > Poverty
Economics: Poverty
As the population ages, the percentage of people living below the poverty threshold increases. In 2004, 12.2 percent of South Carolinians aged 55 and older lived below the poverty level. In the same year, 13.3 percent of the population aged 65 and older and 16.4 percent of the population aged 75 and older lived below poverty. The 2004 poverty threshold was $9,060 for a householder aged 65 and older living alone, and $12,971 for a two-person family with a householder aged 65 and older.
Older women, who typically have a longer life expectancy than men, are especially vulnerable to poverty. Among women aged 75 and older, 20.4 percent lived below poverty in 2004, compared with only 10.1 percent of men in the same age range.
Population Below Poverty by Age and Sex in 2004
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2004 American Community Survey. Table B17001.
Older African-Americans in South Carolina are more affected by poverty than seniors of other races. In 2004, 8.0 percent of the White population aged 65 and over lived below poverty, compared with 32.7 percent of the African American population. 22.5 percent of the population of other races aged 65 and over lived below poverty in 2004.
Population Below Poverty by Age and Race 2004
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2004 American Community Survey, Table B17001A-I.