Table 1.
Characteristics of Low-Income (<200% Poverty Level) Respondents to the National Survey of Families
| Total 16,651 (%)‡ | Housing Instability* 4,293 (23.6%‡) (%)† | Food Insecurity† 7,659 (42.7%‡) (%)† | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Predisposing factors | |||
| Age | |||
| <25 | 21.9 | 17.8 | 20.5 |
| 25 to 44 | 49.8 | 57.8 | 54.4 |
| 45 to 65 | 28.3 | 24.4 | 25.1 |
| Women | 56.7 | 60.9 | 59.2 |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| White non-Latino | 57.1 | 51.0 | 48.6 |
| Black non-Latino | 18.7 | 25.3 | 23.9 |
| Latino | 19.9 | 20.4 | 23.9 |
| Other | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| Region | |||
| Northeast | 16.4 | 15.7 | 14.8 |
| Midwest | 20.6 | 19.9 | 17.1 |
| South | 39.5 | 39.4 | 42.9 |
| West | 23.4 | 25.0 | 25.3 |
| Birthplace | |||
| U.S. born | 82.0 | 82.7 | 80.7 |
| Education | |||
| No HS diploma/GED | 28.2 | 33.2 | 35.9 |
| HS diploma/GED | 40.7 | 40.7 | 39.8 |
| Any college | 31.1 | 26.1 | 24.3 |
| Married (or partnered) | 54.8 | 53.6 | 50.3 |
| Have children | 55.2 | 62.8 | 59.6 |
| Housing instability | 23.6 | 100.0 | 42.4 |
| Food insecurity* | 42.7 | 76.7 | 100.0 |
| Worried whether food would run out | |||
| Often true | 11.5 | 26.6 | 27.0 |
| Sometimes true | 26.5 | 44.5 | 62.1 |
| Never true | 62.0 | 28.9 | 10.9 |
| Food bought did not last | |||
| Often true | 8.2 | 20.0 | 19.3 |
| Sometimes true | 24.3 | 43.9 | 56.9 |
| Never true | 67.5 | 36.1 | 23.4 |
| Cut or skipped meals for lack of money | |||
| Never | 78.6 | 55.6 | 49.6 |
| Almost every month | 6.7 | 16.1 | 15.6 |
| Some but not every month | 8.4 | 17.7 | 19.9 |
| Only 1 or 2 mo | 6.3 | 10.6 | 14.9 |
| Enabling factors | |||
| Family income (% of poverty line) | |||
| <50% of poverty line | 17.6 | 21.4 | 21.7 |
| 50% to 100% of poverty line | 23.2 | 27.1 | 26.2 |
| 100% to 150% of poverty line | 29.6 | 28.1 | 28.5 |
| 150% to 200% of poverty line | 29.7 | 23.4 | 23.6 |
| Employment status | |||
| Not in labor force | 33.4 | 30.1 | 34.4 |
| Looking for work | 8.6 | 10.0 | 10.5 |
| Working | 58.0 | 59.9 | 55.1 |
| Public assistance | |||
| No subsidies | 70.5 | 59.8 | 60.5 |
| Social security income/SSDI | 11.4 | 11.4 | 14.0 |
| Other public assistance§ | 18.1 | 28.8 | 25.5 |
| Insurance status | |||
| Full year private | 40.3 | 24.5 | 25.6 |
| Full year public | 13.2 | 19.0 | 20.5 |
| Insurance all year public/private | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
| Uninsured, part year | 14.8 | 20.8 | 18.0 |
| Uninsured all year | 27.3 | 31.4 | 31.5 |
| Need factors | |||
| Current health status | |||
| Fair or poor | 23.2 | 32.0 | 31.8 |
| Health worse than prior year | 10.2 | 16.7 | 13.9 |
| Health condition that limits work | 22.1 | 29.6 | 28.4 |
| Outcomes | |||
| Access measures | |||
| No usual source of care∥ | 23.9 | 29.2 | 27.8 |
| Postponed needed medical care (past year) | 10.0 | 18.4 | 14.9 |
| Postponed medication (past year) | 9.1 | 18.8 | 14.9 |
| Utilization measures | |||
| No ambulatory care visits (past year) | 31.3 | 30.4 | 32.6 |
| Number of emergency department visits (past year) | |||
| 0 | 73.0 | 62.7 | 65.8 |
| 1 to 2 | 22.9 | 29.4 | 27.9 |
| ≥3 | 4.1 | 7.9 | 6.3 |
| Hospitalizations (past year)§ | 9.8 | 13.8 | 13.0 |
Housing instability defined as difficulty in paying rent, mortgage, or utilities in the prior year.
Food insecurity defined as having any 1 of 3 indicators of food insecurity: (1) worrying that their food would run out, (2) having the food that they bought not last and not having the money to buy more, or (3) having cut the size of meals or skipped meals in the past year because there was not enough money for food.
Rates weighted to reflect U.S. low-income population.
Temporary assistance to needy families, general assistance.
Emergency department not considered usual source of care.
HS, high school; GED, general educational development high school equivalency exam.