Recent U.S. Census data shows nearly 34% of families with children in Erie live below the poverty line.
Recently published U.S. Census data showed that nearly 34% of families with children between the ages of 5-17 in Erie do not exceed the federal standards of poverty-level income in 2023. This is more than double the total state percentage of families with children below the poverty line, and is an increase from Erie’s 2022 numbers. The statewide child poverty rate stayed mostly the same, with just a slight increase from 14.6% to 14.7% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Poverty Estimates Report.
According to the same report, Erie’s childhood poverty rate has increased steadily in the last 30 years, from 30.1% in 1989 to 36.2% in 2021, before falling to 32.5% in 2022 as COVID-19 subsided. The poverty rate for minority children in Erie in 1989 was drastically higher, with 62% of Black children and 69% of Hispanic children not exceeding federal income standards. The most recent census data did not differentiate the rate by race or ethnicity. Most economists have agreed that a majority of the extreme fluctuation in the last 5 years was due to job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unclear whether the reopening of most companies or massive relief programs played a larger role in the slight recovery in poverty levels recently, although most economists contend it contributed to the inflation jump the same year.
“This is nothing new,” said Gary Horton, who serves as the executive director of the Urban Erie Community Development Corp. “We have known about these issues since at least the 1990 census. We aren’t dealing with the issues that were outlined in that census.” Horton outlined the similar trends of poverty rates in Erie County but outside of the Erie School District, noting the same spike after 2020 and eventual improvement in 2023. The increase in 2023 still did not reach pandemic levels, and the percentages outside the Erie School District were smaller than within. The Erie County poverty rate for families with children between 5-17 was 22.0% in 2021 and fell to 20.1% by 2023.
“The most significant bridge for many families during the pandemic was the child tax credit, which was $300 per child,” Horton said. “It helped decrease poverty across the country.” On the flip side, a Federal Reserve study showed a significant link between anti-poverty programs and inflation. The sharp increase in prices for everyday goods from 2021-2023 caused many lower income families to fall back into poverty levels, even when family income levels exceeded federal poverty thresholds. Despite this, Horton argued that ending the childhood tax credit program in particular caused increased suffering for families in poverty, though he did acknowledge the link to higher prices.
