Author Description

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance recommended that the poverty thresholds be adjusted for differences in the cost of housing across geographic areas using data from the decennial census. The Census Bureau currently adjusts the NAS experimental poverty thresholds using data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fair Market Rents. Two new alternative sources for geographic adjustment are now available: median gross rental cost estimates from the American Community Survey and Regional Price Parities estimated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis using CPI survey and American Community Survey housing cost data. This paper will examine the impact of these two new geographic cost adjustment methods on state poverty rates using the NAS experimental poverty measure and data from the 2008 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.