ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some key facts about the nature, extent, and measurement of poverty in the United States, in an effort to promote basic sociological literacy on the subject of poverty. It shows the extent to which a host of factors—including race, ethnicity, family structure, sex, age, and geography—are linked to poverty, and attempts to dramatize their cumulative impacts on economic well-being. The overall poverty rate also conceals significant group-level differences in economic vulnerability: the probability of being poor is much greater for some groups than for others. Race and ethnicity are related to poverty and are closely bound to perceptions and stereotypes about the poor. The groups that are more likely to experience poverty are not randomly distributed across the United States, and some areas of the country are characterized by low educational attainment, limited employment opportunities, and stagnant local economies.
