Oklahoma poverty holds steady overall in 2012, but edges up for women and children

Poverty rates in Oklahoma held steady in 2012, according to data released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau.  Consistent with numbers from 2011, one in six Oklahomans (17.2%) and nearly one in four children (24.1%) live in poverty.  

To help make sense of the new numbers, Oklahoma Policy Institute has released our annual Poverty Profile a handy two-page fact sheet highlighting state-level poverty statistics by age, sex, race, education, work status and family status.  The newly released Oklahoma Poverty Profile 2012 shows that poverty is higher among children, women, female head of households with children, people without a high school education, individuals with disabilities, and within specific racial and ethnic minority populations (African Americans/ blacks, American Indians and Hispanics/ Latinos).

Check out these related blog posts and resources for more information about poverty in Oklahoma. 

• Supporting the Safety Net: Examining Poverty in Oklahoma (audio)
• 2012 New Census data shows stagnant incomes, many Oklahomans still living in poverty
• Five reasons poverty persists in Oklahoma
• The changing map of poverty and race in Oklahoma
• Archived Oklahoma Poverty Profiles (2007-2011)