Measuring Household Experiences during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Household Experience "Wht is the at is the Household Pulse Survey?

The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with multiple federal agencies, is in a unique position to produce data on the social and economic effects of coronavirus and other emergent issues on American households. The Household Pulse Survey is designed to deploy quickly and efficiently, collecting data to measure household experiences during the coronavirus pandemic and recovery. Data will be disseminated in near real-time to inform federal and state response and recovery planning.

DATA TABLES

PUBLIC USE FILES

INTERACTIVE TOOL.."

Household Experience 

Poverty in the United States in 2020

"Calendar year 2020 saw the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an accompanying rise in the poverty rate—the percentage of the population living in poverty (economic hardship characterized by low income). Under the Census Bureau’s official poverty measure, the nation as a whole was estimated to have 37.2 million people (11.4% of the population) living in poverty in 2020, compared with 34.0 million (10.5%) in 2019.

Comparing recent poverty rates with those from before 2019 is somewhat complicated because of changes in the way household income data were collected during the pandemic (in-person interviewing was stopped in favor of telephone-only interviewing in both 2020, which measured 2019 poverty, and 2021, which measured 2020 poverty). This change in survey procedures is largely believed to have biased the overall poverty rate in 2019 downward by a little over half a percentage point. That said, the recent poverty rates in 2019 (10.5%) and 2020 (11.4%) are closer to the previous historical low of 11.1% in 1973 than to the most recent peak of 15.1% in 2010, after the Great Recession.

Between 2019 and 2020, poverty rates rose among the following:

 married-couple families (from 4.0% in 2019 to 4.7% in 2020) and female-householder families (from 22.2% to 23.4%),
 children (from 14.4% to 16.1%) and working-age adults (from 9.4% to 10.4%),
 the Hispanic population (from 15.7% to 17.0%) and White non-Hispanic population (from 7.3% to 8.2%), and
 both workers (from 4.7% to 5.0%) and nonworkers (from 26.4% to 28.8%) aged 18 to 64.

Work reduces the estimated likelihood of being in poverty but does not eliminate it. For example, among 18-to 64-year-olds in poverty, 36.8% had jobs. Among jobless 18-to-64-year-olds in poverty, 19.6% had a family member who worked..."
Poverty in U.S. 

Household Food Security in the United States in 2018

"An estimated 11.1 percent of U.S. households were food insecure at least some time during the year in 2018, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. That is down from 11.8 percent in 2017 and from a peak of 14.9 percent in 2011. The prevalence of very low food security was 4.3 percent in 2018.

See additional tables: Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2018 (AP-081).
View full full report.."
Household Food security

Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2015

"Overall, individuals and their families continue to express mild improvements in their general well-being relative to that seen in 2013 and 2014. However, a number of adults still indicate that they are experiencing financial challenges, and optimism about the future tempered in 2015.

• Sixty-nine percent of adults report that they are either “living comfortably” or “doing okay,” compared to 65 percent in 2014 and 62 percent in 2013. However, 31 percent, or approximately 76 million adults, are either “struggling to get by” or are “just getting by.”

Individuals are 9 percentage points more likely to say that their financial well-being improved during the prior year than to say that their financial wellbeing declined..."
Households

Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2014

"As the economy of the United States continues to rebound from the Great Recession, the well-being of households and consumers provides important information about the scope and pace of the economic recovery. In order to monitor the financial and economic status of American consumers, the Federal Reserve Board began conducting the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking in 2013 and conducted the survey for a second time in October 2014. The findings from the October 2014 survey are covered in this report. Topics examined in the survey include the financial health of individuals on a number of levels, such as overall well-being, housing, economic fragility, savings and spending, access to credit, education and student loans, and retirement planning..."
Economics of us households

The Effects of Potential Cuts in SNAP Spending on Households With Different Amounts of Income

"The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) provides benefits to low-income households to help them buy food. Total federal expenditures on SNAP amounted to $76 billion in fiscal year 2014. In an average month that year, 47 million people (or one in seven U.S. residents) received SNAP benefits.
Some policymakers have expressed a desire to scale back the program significantly to reduce federal spending. In this report, the Congressional Budget Office examines several options for doing so and their effects on the benefits that would be received by households with different amounts of income..."
SNAP and households

A Change in Circumstances: Family and Household Transitions and Child Well-Being

"Change is inevitable, but how often things change can matter for the well-being of children. A new report, A Child’s Day: Living Arrangements, Nativity, and Family Transitions: 2011, uses multiyear data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to understand how often children experience family and household transitions.

The new report examines three types of transitions that children potentially face. A family structure transition occurs if the child experienced a change in family structure due to a parent getting married, divorced or cohabiting with a new partner. An employment transition occurs if either parent in the household lost or gained a job. Lastly, a residential transition occurs if the child moved at any point..."Households

Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S.: 2000 to 2011

"Household net worth, or wealth, is an important indicator of  economic well-being in the United  States. Median household net  worth decreased by $5,046, or 6.8
percent, between 2000 and  2011..."
Household wealth

Economic Chcracteristics of Households in the United States:2008-2012

Find data on median household income and selected benefits by households for the periods 2008-2012.
Household Characteristics

Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2013

"..This report presents findings from the September 2013 survey. The survey covered a range of top-

ics—including household financial well-being, housing, credit availability, borrowing for education, savings, retirement, and medical expenses—meant to round out the understanding of how households are faring financially..."

Economics of U.S. households

Married-Couple Households by Nativity Status: 2011

"According to the results of the 2010 Census, almost 7 percent of married-couple households in the United States included a householder and a spouse of
different races.1 In addition, about 4 percent of married- ouple households were composed of partners where one was Hispanic and the other not of Hispanic origin..."

3

Married-Couple Households by Nativity

Arab Households in the United States:2006-2010

 "This brief provides a portrait of households in the United States with a particular focus on Arab households; people of Arab ancestry are also discussed..."
Arab Households in the U.S.:2006-2010

U.S. Household Savings for Retirement in 2010

"This report provides data on a variety of household wealth measures in 2010 from the Federal Reserve’s triennial Survey of Consumer Finances. Although the amount of retirement assets is the primary focus of the report, other measures of wealth (such as the amount of total assets, financial assets, total debt, net worth, and housing equity) are also included..
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43057.pdf

Household Debt in the U.S.: 2000 to 2011

"In 2011, 69 percent of U.S. households held some form of debt. This represents a decrease from 2000 when 74 percent of U.S. households held debt.1 At the same time, median household debt has increased over the past decade: from $50,971 [+/- $1,165] in 2000 to $70,000 [+/- $1,199] in 2011 (see Figure 1).."
Household Debt in the United States: 2000-2011

Poverty and Shared Households by State: 2011

"Nationally, the number of people in shared households has risen since the onset of the most recent economic recession.1 This brief uses data from the American Community Survey (ACS) to explore the growth in shared households at the state level between 2007 and 2011. Comparisons are also made between 2010 and 2011. The report provides summary statistics on people sharing households, particularly their age and
relationship to the householder..."
Poverty and Shared Households by States: 2011

Sharing a Household: Household Composition and Economic Well-Being: 2007–2010

"This report analyzes and describes “household sharing,” a process by which people join or combine households. Data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS ASEC) were used to compare living arrangements, both prior to and following the most recent recession..."

Wealth and Asset Ownership

Find statistics on the median value of assets for households by type of asset owned and selected other characteristics. These figures are subdivided to display assets by race and Hispanic origin of householder, age of householder, and education attainment of householder.

Households and Families: 2010

"The 2010 Census enumerated 308.7 million people in the United States, a 9.7 percent increase from 281.4 million in Census 2000. Of the total population in 2010, 300.8 million lived in 116.7 million households for an average of 2.58 people per household. This was down from an
average of 2.59 in 2000 when 273.6 million people lived in 105.5 million households. The remaining 8.0 million people in 2010 lived in group-quarters arrangements such as school dormitories, nursing homes, or military barracks..."

Household Income Inequality within U.S. Counties: 2006-2010

"Since 1967, U.S. household income inequality has grown 18 percent. Nearly half of that growth occurred during the 1980s. More recently, the growth in income inequality has tapered off.1 Levels of inequality vary across the country. This report presents measures of household income inequality for counties in the United States, based on data pooled from 5 years (2006 to 2010) of American Community Survey (ACS) data..."

Managing Household Records

"When was the last time you couldn't find an important paper you knew you had carefully put away? How do people decide where to store and keep such records? And how do they know what to keep, what to throw away, and when? Do you have a simple system or roadmap for important papers (PDF | download Adobe Reader) to which you or a loved one can refer to in case of an emergency?

Every household must work out its own records management system, but some general guidelines can help. A good system will provide an overview of what happens to property after a major life event occurs..."