Financial Security
Children Living in Poverty

Decreasing


Children Living in Poverty

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What does this measure?

The number of children under 18 who live below the federally defined poverty line, expressed as a percentage of all children under 18. Poverty thresholds vary by family composition and year. In 2022, the threshold for a four-person family with two children was $29,678.

Why is this important?

Children raised in impoverished environments are at higher risk for a wide variety of health and social problems, including poor performance in school. The challenges they face in childhood can diminish their chances for successful adult lives. Studies have found that the stress of living in poverty can cause biological changes in children that can lead to long-term health problems.

How does our county compare?

In 2018-22, 10% of children in Lancaster County lived below the poverty line. This was lower than the statewide and national rate (16% and 17%, respectively). The county's rate has decreased 5 percentage points since 2008-12 - similar to the nation (4 percentage points) and more than the state (2 percentage points).

In the City of Lancaster, 25% of children lived below the poverty line in 2018-22. This was a decrease of 17 percentage points since 2008-12 and 15 percentage points from 2013-17.

The percentage of children living below the poverty line in Lancaster County in 2018-22 was higher than in Chester (7%). Lancaster was similar to Cumberland (10%) and York (11%) but below Lebanon (16%), Berks (18%) and Dauphin (17%).

Notes about the data

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined 5 years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Poverty status is not reported for people in institutions, including college dormitories and military barracks, and people in living situations without conventional housing. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.

Children Living in Poverty
20002008-122013-172018-22
Pennsylvania15%18%19%16%
Lancaster County11%15%15%10%
Lancaster City30%42%40%25%
Lancaster County School Districts
School District of Lancaster38%36%23%
Cocalico School District7%*8%*10%*
Columbia Borough School District37%*33%*24%**
Conestoga Valley School District15%*19%9%**
Donegal School District14%*17%**10%***
Eastern Lancaster County School District14%*13%*8%*
Elizabethtown Area School District7%*10%**8%***
Ephrata Area School District13%*11%*8%*
Hempfield School District7%*12%*3%***
Lampeter-Strasburg School District6%**8%**4%***
Manheim Central School District9%*6%***5%**
Manheim Township School District8%*6%**6%**
Penn Manor School District9%*6%**8%**
Pequea Valley School District9%*14%*7%*
Solanco School District15%16%*12%*
Warwick School District8%*7%**6%**
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough3%2%***3%***18%***
Akron borough5%12%***1%***10%***
Christiana borough13%28%***12%***14%***
Columbia borough19%37%*33%*24%**
Denver township5%4%***12%***11%***
East Petersburg borough5%7%***4%***7%***
Elizabethtown borough7%5%***10%***13%***
Ephrata borough7%8%***17%*9%**
Lititz borough4%13%**5%***2%***
Manheim borough9%13%***16%***16%***
Marietta borough12%8%***31%**15%***
Millersville borough10%7%***7%***19%***
Mount Joy borough10%18%**5%***22%***
Mountville borough13%1%***39%***2%***
New Holland borough8%29%**17%***4%***
Quarryville borough11%7%***16%**29%**
Strasburg borough5%9%***12%***12%***
Terre Hill borough7%8%***7%***10%***
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township20%14%**11%***5%***
Brecknock township16%5%***3%***1%***
Caernarvon township12%19%**15%***8%***
Clay township8%17%**14%**3%***
Colerain township17%3%***14%**28%*
Conestoga township3%1%***4%***4%***
Conoy township6%4%***25%**5%***
Drumore township8%34%*19%***2%***
Earl township26%16%***20%**16%***
East Cocalico township5%13%**7%***7%***
East Donegal township1%5%***10%***1%***
East Drumore township23%10%***7%***10%***
East Earl township9%11%**14%**9%***
East Hempfield township4%8%**13%**2%***
East Lampeter township11%15%*12%*12%***
Eden township11%23%**20%**3%***
Elizabeth township6%14%***10%***4%***
Ephrata township9%14%**4%***10%**
Fulton township18%28%**18%**6%***
Lancaster township18%22%*21%*16%**
Leacock township20%4%***6%***10%***
Little Britain township20%11%***0%***5%***
Manheim township4%8%*6%**6%**
Manor township4%7%**6%***8%***
Martic township2%18%***12%***9%***
Mount Joy township4%20%*22%***5%***
Paradise township12%11%**30%*6%***
Penn township6%0%***7%***2%***
Pequea township6%13%***0%***3%***
Providence township9%12%***33%**11%***
Rapho township3%15%**1%***2%***
Sadsbury township21%13%**9%***18%*
Salisbury township12%11%**10%**6%***
Strasburg township5%18%**7%***5%***
Upper Leacock township11%16%**29%*9%***
Warwick township6%3%***7%***9%**
West Cocalico township2%2%***7%***10%***
West Donegal township1%3%***4%***3%***
West Earl township10%16%**21%**6%***
West Hempfield township7%7%**8%***4%***
West Lampeter township3%2%***8%***1%***
Berks County13%21%21%18%
Chester County5%7%8%7%
Cumberland County8%11%11%10%
Dauphin County14%20%20%17%
Lebanon County11%16%15%16%
York County9%14%16%11%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




Number of Children Living in Poverty
20002008-122013-172018-22
Pennsylvania421,745502,796490,831423,242
Lancaster County13,74018,87619,06212,533
Lancaster City4,4426,1405,5783,314
Lancaster County School Districts
School District of Lancaster6,8376,3423,974
Cocalico School District438*425*632*
Columbia Borough School District989*779*380**
Conestoga Valley School District1,317*1,718910**
Donegal School District656*897**471***
Eastern Lancaster County School District1,301*1,122*654*
Elizabethtown Area School District478*622**448***
Ephrata Area School District984*913*653*
Hempfield School District699*1,289*292***
Lampeter-Strasburg School District318**427**211***
Manheim Central School District506*330***284**
Manheim Township School District764*559**531**
Penn Manor School District701*499**737**
Pequea Valley School District697*1,008*534*
Solanco School District1,4201,461*1,119*
Warwick School District569*518**461**
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough811***17***136***
Akron borough4490***9***103***
Christiana borough3574***24***26***
Columbia borough460989*779*380**
Denver township4836***125***103***
East Petersburg borough6261***40***63***
Elizabethtown borough151112***198***251***
Ephrata borough222225***565*278**
Lititz borough82282**97***33***
Manheim borough100141***162***213***
Marietta borough7840***191**56***
Millersville borough8058***58***209***
Mount Joy borough149308**78***402***
Mountville borough597***292***11***
New Holland borough84333**189***48***
Quarryville borough6038***118**230**
Strasburg borough3565***89***77***
Terre Hill borough2320***26***28***
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township237172**115***66***
Brecknock township346101***47***12***
Caernarvon township165293**207***119***
Clay township127289**246**48***
Colerain township20037***195**385*
Conestoga township2711***30***23***
Conoy township5128***188**31***
Drumore township55320*135***14***
Earl township503318***373**324***
East Cocalico township145345**145***173***
East Donegal township998***211***13***
East Drumore township22093***74***102***
East Earl township173236**280**123***
East Hempfield township208371**645**77***
East Lampeter township366574*496*542***
Eden township70160**132**25***
Elizabeth township70135***101***31***
Ephrata township231380**93***224**
Fulton township165242**174**67***
Lancaster township532697*764*647**
Leacock township34880***103***175***
Little Britain township235159***0***50***
Manheim township283764*559**544**
Manor township159273**265***358***
Martic township35224***146***119***
Mount Joy township97493*594***123***
Paradise township164188**530*109***
Penn township1120***152***29***
Pequea township70135***0***28***
Providence township157199***518**180***
Rapho township77365**16***42***
Sadsbury township201128**129***216*
Salisbury township403429**375**250***
Strasburg township62200**100***84***
Upper Leacock township286399**783*223***
Warwick township256152***320***397**
West Cocalico township4646***138***220***
West Donegal township955***59***43***
West Earl township197344**439**145***
West Hempfield township320260**312***141***
West Lampeter township10153***238***50***
Berks County12,00319,83119,80016,530
Chester County6,0828,8839,7038,869
Cumberland County3,6195,2325,3075,456
Dauphin County8,47112,25912,08710,932
Lebanon County3,1634,7994,5905,176
York County8,01013,46314,98211,155

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




INDICATORS TREND
Prekindergarten Participation Increasing
Student Performance on Grade 3 English Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate Increasing
Per-Student Spending Maintaining
Students Receiving Special Education Services Increasing
Rate of Foster Care Admissions Maintaining
Disengaged Youth Maintaining
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Plans of High School Graduates Not Applicable
Enrollment in Local Colleges Decreasing
College Graduation Rates Decreasing
Brain Drain/Gain Increasing
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Average Charitable Giving Maintaining
Voter Registration Rate Not Applicable
Voter Participation Rate Increasing
Age of Housing Stock Not Applicable
Violent Crime Rate Maintaining
Incarceration Rate Decreasing
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Population Density Increasing
Air Quality Decreasing
Water Use Decreasing
Waterways Impaired by Pollution Not Applicable
Change in Population Increasing
Change in Population by Age and Gender Not Applicable
Population by Age Not Applicable
Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People with Disabilities Maintaining
Foreign-Born Population Increasing
Language Diversity Increasing
Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Change in Employment by Sector Not Applicable
Sector Share of Total Jobs Not Applicable
Workers by Occupation Not Applicable
Change in Labor Force Maintaining
People Entering/Leaving County/Region for Work Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary Since 2000 Increasing
Female to Male Earnings Ratio Maintaining
Employer Size Not Applicable
Change in Number of Businesses by Sector Increasing
Change in Total Agricultural Sales Increasing
Spending for Local Government Maintaining
Spending for School Districts Maintaining
Children Living in Poverty Decreasing
Children in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Decreasing
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Veterans Living in Poverty Maintaining
Working Poor Decreasing
Median Household Income by Household Type Not Applicable
Median Household Income Maintaining
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Living Wage Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Household Receiving Temporary Assistance Maintaining
Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch Increasing
Median Home Value Maintaining
Occupied Housing Units Maintaining
Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Rent Maintaining
Cost of Renting Increasing
Households Without Vehicles Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Without Health Insurance Decreasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Health Status Decreasing
Prevalence of Mental Illness Maintaining
Adults Who are Overweight or Obese Not Applicable
Mortality Rates Decreasing
Mortality Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Increasing
Fatal Drug Overdoses Increasing
Cancer Incidence Decreasing
Households With Internet Access Increasing
High-Tech Jobs Increasing
STEM Graduates Increasing
Science and Engineering Research and Development Maintaining
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Children in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable


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