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Poverty rate in Florida dips to lowest level since Great Recession, census says

About 14 percent of the Sunshine State's population had incomes below the poverty line last year compared to 13.2 percent in 2008.
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About 14 percent of the Sunshine State’s population had incomes below the poverty line last year compared to 13.2 percent in 2008.
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Nearly a decade after the Great Recession, the percentage of Floridians who were living in poverty in 2017 was at its lowest level since 2008, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

About 14 percent of the Sunshine State’s population had incomes below the poverty line last year compared with 13.2 percent in 2008.

That means between 2.8 million and 2.9 million people were living in poverty in Florida in 2017.

The Census Bureau measures poverty annually and sets the threshold based on factors such as household income and family size, including the number of children. A family of four, including two children, would be considered below the poverty line in 2017 if their combined income was less than $24,848.

But just because a family is above the poverty line doesn’t mean they’re able to make ends meet, said Melissa Radey, a professor at Florida State University who specializes in poverty research.

“We have rising healthcare costs, rising housing costs,” Radey said. “That’s another argument in ‘What does this poverty line mean?’”

Different populations are also affected disproportionately, she noted.

The poverty rate actually increased slightly from 2016 to 2017 for single mothers. That group is about four times more likely to live in poverty than married couples with children.

And black people statewide are twice as likely to be impoverished as white people.

“I’m very grateful that the rate is dropping, but I’m concerned about these particularly vulnerable populations,” Radey said.

Rural counties and those in Florida’s panhandle have the highest poverty rates, and some have seen little or no improvement since the end of the recession.

Putnam County just east of Gainesville has the highest poverty rate of the counties measured so far, with 27.7 percent.

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Hector H. Sandoval, director of the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, attributed part of the stagnation in those areas on job availability — the state’s largest industry, tourism, is concentrated in coastal areas.

“All the counties that have access to the coast are the ones with lower poverty [rates],” Sandoval said. “This is related to the tourism industry.”

Sumter County west of Orlando had the lowest rate of counties measured in the census release, with 8.1 percent.

Economists have recently been optimistic about Florida’s economic future, predicting a continued rise in job creation, declining unemployment and wage increases in some parts of the state.

Florida’s poverty rate peaked in 2012 at 17.1 percent. While things have improved with the current 14 percent figure, it is still higher than the national rate of 13.2 percent.

Sandoval said better pay is the most effective way to lift more Floridians above the threshold.

At the same time, public policy should focus on places like South Florida, he said.

Even though the region doesn’t have a high poverty rate, nearly 30 percent of the state’s total impoverished live in the tri-county area.

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