Follow up to Census Bureau Releases 2009 American Community Survey Data – “A closer look at the numbers reveals that while poverty has not increased substantially for the city as a whole, it has jumped sharply for certain groups:

• More than one in four children in DC lives in poverty. The child poverty rate rose from just over 22 percent to 29 percent between 2007 and 2009. This represents the largest change in poverty rates among any group in the District since the start of the recession.
• The number of residents living in deep poverty has risen. The number of residents living in deep poverty — meaning they live below half of the poverty line, or just under $11,000 for a family of four — rose from 8 percent in 2007 to 11 percent in 2009. Over 1 in 10 DC residents – 61,128 – are living on less than half of the poverty line. This represents an increase of 14,000 residents living in deep poverty from 2007.
• More than one in four Black residents live below the poverty line. The poverty rate among Blacks rose from 23 percent in 2007 to 27 percent in 2009. Poverty among black residents is more than three times the poverty rates for White, non-Hispanic residents and more than two and half times the poverty rates for Hispanic residents.
• One in three residents east of the River lives in poverty. The poverty rate for residents living in Wards 7 and 8 grew from 27 percent in 2007 to 34 percent in 2009.”