Nevada’s poverty rates up slightly

Lisa Snedeker

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000 | 9:45 a.m.

New U.S. Census Bureau figures show that Nevada's poverty rate increased slightly in 1999, while the poverty rate throughout the nation dropped to 11.8 percent - the lowest in 20 years.

Nevada's poverty rate ranks 29th nationwide, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press. That means 21 states have lower rates of poverty than Nevada. The state figure increased .01 percent to 10.9 percent for a three-year average of 11 percent, according to Census Bureau figures released Tuesday.

"Ours (poverty rate) at least saw no real increase," said state Demographer Jeff Hardcastle, who attributed the slight increase to the state's increasing Hispanic population. "Poverty, unfortunately, at times is associated with race because of economic circumstance."

The Hispanic poverty rate nationwide was 22.8 percent, while the overall poverty rate for whites was 7.7 percent. Except for whites, the poverty rate for the nation's major racial and ethnic groups set or equaled historic lows, the Census Bureau said.

A downturn in Nevada's mining industry could also be attributed to the slight increase in the state's poverty rate, Hardcastle said.

"But you are talking about a small percentage of the population," he said.

Any poverty is too great, said Bob Fulkerson, state director Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, a statewide advocacy group for the poor.

"It's not about a percentage, it's about human beings and about children growing up hungry," said Fulkerson, adding that 11 percent of Nevada's population equals more than 150,000 people.

New Mexico has the highest poverty rate with 20.8 percent, and Utah has the second lowest poverty rate in the nation with 7.9 percent. Maryland has the lowest poverty rate at 7.6 percent.

Meanwhile median household incomes reached a record high with Nevada ranking 18th in the nation in 1999 with $41,680. "We're smack in the middle in the West," Hardcastle said.

The state with the highest median income level is Alaska at $51,046, while Arkansas was lowest at $28,398.

The median income level for the nation's households rose 2.7 percent from $39,744 in 1998 to a record-high of $40,816 last year, accounting for inflation. The average poverty threshold for a family of four in 1999, also accounting for inflation, was $17,029; for a family of three, it was $13,290.

Hardcastle attributed Nevada's higher-than-average ranking to the state's continued growth. "And we're posed to continue our growth until 2001," he said.

Neighboring Utah - which ranks eighth in the nation for the highest median income - has done a better job of developing high-tech industries than Nevada, Hardcastle added.

"A large amount (of Nevada residents) are employed in service and retail positions, which are not necessarily high-wage positions," he said.