ABSTRACT
In 2003, the number of poor Americans rose by 1.3 million, resulting in a total of 35.9 million Americans living in poverty. 1 For a family of four, the poverty rate is an income of $18,810, a family of three, $14,680, a couple, $12,015, and an individual, $9,393. For African Americans, the poverty rate remained essentially the same, at a rate of 24.4 percent, and Hispanics at 22.5 percent. Between 2002 and 2003, the median household income for the Black community saw little change at approximately $30,000.
