Where the Ends Don’t Meet: Measuring Poverty and Self-Sufficiency Among Oregon’s Families

Authors

Melissa Rowe, Portland State University
Sheila A. Martin, Portland State UniversityFollow
Danan Gu, Portland State University
Webb Sprague, Portland State University

Sponsor

This is financed in whole or in part with funds provided through Worksystems, Inc. from the U.S. Department of Labor

Document Type

Technical Report

Publication Date

3-2010

Subjects

Self-reliant living -- Oregon, Poverty -- Oregon -- Measurement, Families --Oregon --Statistics

Abstract

This report uses the Self-Sufficiency Standard developed by Dr. Diana Pearce at the University of Washington to analyze the extent to which Oregon households earn enough money to meet their basic needs without a public subsidy. This standard, a vast improvement on the federal poverty level, accounts for differences in the cost of living based on family structure, age of children, and county of residence. Dr. Pearce has defined the income required to meet basic needs for every county in Oregon and a number of household types. A large number of Oregon households not considered poor by the federal poverty level nevertheless do not earn enough income to meet their basic needs. In this report, we use census data to sort households into those that meet versus those that don’t meet the Self-Sufficiency Standard and describe how basic socioeconomic factors such as family structure and householder sex, race/ethnicity, education, and work affect the extent to which households earn enough to make ends meet.

Description

Final Report produced for the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, March 2010.

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/13011

Citation Details

Rowe, M., Martin, S., Gu, D., Sprague, W., "Where the Ends Don't Meet: Measuring Poverty and Self-Sufficiency Among Oregon's Families. Portland, OR: Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, March 2010.