2021 A

2021 SPECIAL EDITION OF THE MEMPHIS

POVERTY FACT SHEET

The 2021 Update of the Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet, produced annually by Dr. Elena Delavega of the School of Social Work at the University of

Memphis, and Dr. Gregory M. Blumenthal of GMBS Consulting. Data from the 2020 American Community Survey Released in March 2022 and previous

datasets.

Memphis and Shelby County

2021 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet

(Data from 2020 ACS)

NOTE on the 2021 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet

The 2021 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet is both late and not comparable to previous Memphis Poverty Fact Sheets. This is a direct result of the failure of the U.S. Census Bureau to release the standard 1-year estimates from the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS) on account of both the COVID-19 pandemic and deep budget cuts. On March 17, 2022, the U.S. Bureau of the Census finally released data at the local level, but the release was the 5-year estimates from the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS), which is a composite of the five previous years (2016-2020). As a result, the 2021 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet stands alone. The data provided herein is simply not comparable to previous years in any meaningful way.

NOTE on Older Adult Poverty

Depending on the table utilized, the Census Bureau reports data for people 65 and older or 60 to 75 (and older). The authors have chosen to include poverty for people 65 and older whenever possible, but when that is not possible, we have had to make the difficult choice as to whether to include people 6065 in the older adult (senior) group, or to exclude people 65-75 from that group. Given the range and size of the potentially excluded group and given that it is possible to retire at age 62, we have decided to include people 60-65 in the senior group. As a result, some tables report adults as age 18-59 and seniors as age 60+.

Who are the Memphis Poor? The city of Memphis has a poverty rate of 24.6%. Child poverty is 39.6%, while the poverty rate for people over age 60 is the lowest of any age group at 15.3%. It is impossible to tell if and how much poverty rates changed in 2020 due to the failure of the U.S. Census Bureau to release 1-year estimates for 2020. Anecdotally, it appears that poverty in Memphis increased during 2020 for all groups, most likely due to the pandemic. Figures 9 and 10 detail the impact on employment of the COVID-19 pandemic and may contribute an explanation as to why poverty may have increased. The City of Memphis poverty rate for Blacks is 29.5%, for Hispanics/Latinos is 29.3%, and the poverty rate for non-Hispanic Whites in the city of Memphis is 11.3%. In the Memphis Statistical Metropolitan Area (MSA), which includes parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, the overall poverty is 17.3%, child poverty is 27.2%, poverty for

? 2022 Poverty Fact Sheet. Elena Delavega, PhD, MSW, School of Social Work, University 1 of Memphis, & Gregory M. Blumenthal, PhD, GMBS Consulting

people over age 60 is 10.8%, Black poverty is 25.3%, non-Hispanic White poverty is 8.1%, Asian poverty is 9.3%, and Hispanic or Latino poverty is 24.5%. Black and Hispanic/Latino poverty rates continue to converge in Memphis.

The Poverty Rate in Memphis and Shelby County Compared to National Rates In general, poverty rates for the City of Memphis continue to be higher than poverty rates in Shelby County for every category. Both are higher than poverty rates in Tennessee, with the notable exception of nonHispanic Whites, for which poverty rates are higher in Tennessee than in Memphis at every level. Clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on poverty rates overall.

Table 1 ? Diverse Poverty Rates in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, and the United States

2020 Poverty Rate

United States Tennessee Shelby County Memphis city, Tennessee Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro

Overall

12.8% 14.6% 19.0% 24.6%

17.3%

Under 18

17.5% 20.8% 29.9% 39.6%

27.2%

Adult (18-59)

12.2% 13.9% 16.5% 21.1%

15.2%

Senior (60+)

9.7% 10.1% 11.9% 15.3%

10.8%

NonHispanic White

9.3% 11.6%

7.8% 11.3%

8.1%

Black Latino

22.1% 24.3% 26.2% 29.5%

25.3%

18.3% 24.5% 25.0% 29.3%

24.5%

Asian

10.6% 10.1% 10.0% 17.1%

9.3%

New in 2020 From outside observations, poverty appears to have increased, but due to the failure of the U.S. Census Bureau to release the standard 1-year estimates from the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS) on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is very difficult to estimate trends accurately. Given present numbers and employment data provided on tables 9 and 10, however, the authors suggest that poverty is indeed getting worse.

Not-So-New in 2020 It is not a surprise to anyone familiar with the Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet that the poverty rate in the City of Memphis is higher than in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the United States. It is also not a surprise that the poverty rate among minorities is higher than among nonHispanic Whites. Structural disparities remain and will require deliberate efforts to

Figure 1 ? Percent of the Population in Poverty

? 2022 Poverty Fact Sheet. Elena Delavega, PhD, MSW, School of Social Work, University 2 of Memphis, & Gregory M. Blumenthal, PhD, GMBS Consulting

dismantle. Solving poverty will require regional solutions and regional investments, such as public transportation that serves the entire community. Finally, it is not new that the child poverty rate is always the highest everywhere.

Bad News Overall If poverty indeed increased due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would surprise no one. At the same time, it is disheartening to see that racial and ethnic disparities continue to exist unabated. In Shelby County the median income for Blacks ($38,439) is lower than the national median income ($43,674) for that population, but the median income for nonHispanic Whites ($78,702) is higher than the national median ($70,843) for the same group.

Figure 2 ? Poverty Rates in 2020 in Memphis and Shelby County

DETAILED POVERTY TABLES: NATIONAL DATA

Table 2 ? The Poverty Intersection of Race and Age: United States 5-Year Estimates

Population Size (in thousands) Median Household Income Overall Poverty Rate Child (Under 18) Poverty Rate Adult (18-59) Poverty Rate Senior (60+) Poverty Rate

United States

Non-

Overall Hispanic

White

318,564 191,779

$64,994 $70,843

12.8%

9.3%

17.5%

10.6%

12.2%

9.8%

9.7%

7.6%

Black

Latino or Hispanic

39,545 $43,674

22.1% 31.8% 19.1% 17.9%

58,180 $54,632

18.3% 24.7% 15.1% 16.7%

Asian

18,074 $91,775

10.6% 10.6% 10.4% 11.5%

? 2022 Poverty Fact Sheet. Elena Delavega, PhD, MSW, School of Social Work, University 3 of Memphis, & Gregory M. Blumenthal, PhD, GMBS Consulting

Table 3 ? The Poverty Intersection of Race and Age: United States 1-Year Estimates

United States - 1-Year Estimates

NonOverall Hispanic

White

Black

Latino or Hispanic

Population Size (in thousands) 326,713 194,319 43,355 61,196

Median Household Income $67,521 $74,912 $45,870 $55,321

Overall Poverty Rate

11.4% 8.2% 19.5% 17.0%

Child (Under 18) Poverty Rate 16.1%

Adult (18-64) Poverty Rate

10.4%

Senior (65+) Poverty Rate

9.0%

Asian

20,155 $94,903

8.1%

What We Don't Know The failure of the US Census Bureau to be able to provide 1-year estimates on anything less than a national level makes comparison to previous years problematic, at best. We may never have a clear, quantitative picture of how the pandemic affected poverty on a state or local level. We may also never be able to provide a clear cost-benefit analysis of the stimulus payments. Additionally, the lack of reporting of child poverty rates by race or ethnicity, even on a national level, makes the work of all of the agencies and organizations dependent upon this data. Another adverse effect of the loss of this geographically detailed annual data is the loss of fine-grained market trend data for business development. Businesses need of this kind of data in order to make effective decisions as we exit the pandemic and grow the economy.

What we DO Know The U.S. Bureau of the Census released national data on September 14, 2021. 2020 Poverty ? National Only

? 2019 ? 10.5% ? 2020 ? 11.4%

2020 Median Income ? National Only ? 2019 ? $69,560 ? 2020 ? $67,521

In addition to the increase in poverty by almost one percentile point, there was a decrease in the median income for the nation. There was a general income loss of 1.7%, while at the same time people with high incomes had a 6% increase in income. The Census Bureau also reported that at the national level more than half (53%) of all jobs that were lost had wages under $34,000 a year.

The data may or may not apply to Memphis, but they do point in a direction.

? 2022 Poverty Fact Sheet. Elena Delavega, PhD, MSW, School of Social Work, University 4 of Memphis, & Gregory M. Blumenthal, PhD, GMBS Consulting

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