Poverty Rate

DASHBOARD
URBAN AGENDA – ECONOMIC MOBILITY – POVERTY RATE

In Cleveland, the share of Black and Brown residents living below the poverty line is nearly 3 times the nation’s overall poverty rate. For Cuyahoga County as a whole, the share of Black and Hispanic/Latino residents living in poverty was more than twice the national poverty rate.

GOAL

Reduce Poverty Rate Among Black and Brown Families

POVERTY RATE DISPARITIES

Cleveland earned the unwanted distinction of being the nation’s poorest big city in 2004. For most of the past 20 years, Cleveland has remained among the nation’s poorest big cities. In 2022, roughly 1 of every 3 Clevelanders lived in poverty. Among Clevelanders of color, the rate was even worse, with more than 37% of Black and Hispanic/Latino residents living in poverty. For Cuyahoga County, poverty rates were 2.8 times higher for Black and Hispanic/Latino residents than for their White counterparts.

POVERTY RATE 2030 BENCHMARKS

Reduce poverty rates among Black and Hispanic/Latino residents of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County to be no greater than comparable measures for the state overall (25.9% of Black Ohioans in 2022 and 22.0% of Hispanic/Latino residents). Based on 2022 population levels, that would mean 19,256 fewer Black Clevelanders living in poverty and 6,989 fewer Hispanic/Latino Clevelanders living below the poverty line.

26,000+

Fewer People of Color In Cuyahoga County In Poverty

PROVERTY KEY DRIVERS OF INTEREST

Childhood Poverty Rate FAMILY STRUCTURE DISABILITY HEALTH INSURANCE SNAP/Food Assistance

CHILDHOOD POVERTY RATE DISPARITIES

Cleveland’s poverty level overall is unacceptably high. It is even worse for children. More than half of all Black children (52%) and Hispanic/Latino children (56.2%) in Cleveland live in poverty. That is more than double the rate of poverty for White children in Cleveland and more than 15 percentage points higher than the rate for Black and Brown children in Cuyahoga County. The poverty rate for White children in Cleveland, it should be noted, is roughly twice the rate for White children in the county, state and nation overall.

CHILDHOOD POVERTY RATE 2030 BENCHMARKS

Reduce poverty rates among Black and Hispanic/Latino children of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County to be no greater than comparable measures for the state overall (36.2% of Black children in Ohio in 2022 and 29.0% of Hispanic/Latino children). Based on 2022 population levels, that would mean roughly 6,801 fewer Black children in Cleveland living in poverty and 3,696 fewer Hispanic/Latino children in Cleveland growing up in poverty.

FAMILY STRUCTURE DISPARITIES

In Cleveland, nearly 1 of every 2 Black households with children present had incomes below the poverty level; that compares to roughly 1 of every 5 White households with children. In Cuyahoga County, roughly 1 of every 3 Black and Hispanic/Latino households with children under the age of 18 had incomes below the poverty level; that compares to 1 of every 10 White households with children present. Among the 9,568 Black households in Cleveland where children were present and incomes were below the poverty level, 8,063 (84.3%) were headed by women without a spouse present. That rate was similar for the county and state and only fell to 77.8% for the nation overall. In fact, Black female-headed households accounted for 52.6% of all Cleveland households with children present and with incomes below poverty. Nearly three-fourths of White below-poverty households with children present in Cleveland were headed by women without a spouse present, but White households in Cleveland are half as likely to have children present, and White households with children present are far more likely to be married.

Chart Note: Data for Cleveland, Hispanic N/A

FAMILY STRUCTURE 2030 BENCHMARKS

The combination of high poverty levels in general and high rates of female-headed households means that 39.0% of all Black households with children in Cleveland are headed by women with incomes below poverty level. That compares to 27.1% of all Black households with children present in Ohio being ones that are headed by single women living in poverty. Working to bring the Cleveland rate more in line with the state, through efforts to supplement incomes for working mothers in low-pay jobs, improve access to good-paying jobs for both fathers and mothers, and encourage family stability, would mean nearly 2,500 fewer Black women parenting alone in poverty.

DISABILITY DISPARITIES

The Urban Agenda goal of increasing median household incomes highlights the need to both expand the ranks of the employed and support pathways to higher wages for workers. More Clevelanders working and at higher wages would be expected to help with the second Urban Agenda goal of reducing poverty, as well. However, many Clevelanders face impediments to work. This means interventions must include a focus on making work options more accessible, where feasible, and on providing additional support in cases where work is not feasible. One of every 5 Black Clevelanders of working age (ages 16 to 64) has a disability, according to the 2022 ACS. That’s a rate nearly 40% higher than seen among the Black working-age population across the state and nearly 50% higher than for the nation. The share of working-age Hispanic/Latino Clevelanders with a disability is 84% higher than for their counterparts across the nation. Similarly aged White Clevelanders are also nearly 50% more likely to be disabled compared to the nation overall. This suggests an environment or activities in Cleveland that are not conducive to good physical and mental well-being and equitable health care.

DISABILITY DISPARITIES 2030 BENCHMARKS

Deliberately address the interconnectedness of physical and mental health and economic well-being. Promote healthy eating and lifestyles in schools and as part of work-ready curriculums and job training. Intervene early to help prevent injuries and chronic illness. Nearly 12% of Black children in Cleveland had a disability, a rate double that of Black children across the state and nation (6.4% and 5.7%, respectively). Hispanic/Latino children in Cleveland were more than 3 times more likely to have a disability than Hispanic/Latino children nationwide (16.2% vs. 5.0%). Focus on underlying conditions that lead to markedly higher levels of disability among Black and Brown children of Cleveland compared to the 7.4% rate for White children. These may include lead exposure, limited access to healthy food, and lack of safe spaces to recreate.

HEALTH INSURANCE DISPARITIES

Promoting good health and preventing illness rest on access to health care. For Cleveland’s children, that may be a bright spot and a foundation on which to build brighter futures. The 2022 American Community Survey found that less than 3 percent of Black and White children in Cleveland lacked health insurance, a rate lower than for the state and nation. A significantly higher share (12.7%) of Hispanic/Latino children in Cleveland had no health insurance, a rate well above that of Hispanic/Latino children across the state and nation. However, roughly 1 of every 5 Black young adults (19.4%) in Cleveland had no health insurance, compared to 10.5% of Black 19- to 25-year-olds for all of Ohio and 14.5% across the nation. Among Hispanic/Latino adults ages 26 to 44 (years approximating the first half of a career), more than 1 of every 4 lacked health insurance; that rate was fairly consistent across the four geographies of interest.

HEALTH INSURANCE 2030 BENCHMARKS

Look for lessons that can be drawn from Cleveland’s success in insuring children to bring the rate of uninsured young adults and early-career workers more in line with state levels. This should include focusing on increasing the number of full-time workers, given the fact that stable, full-time jobs frequently come with health insurance benefits.

SNAP/SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Access to food and good nutrition is essential to overall good health. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps low-income families stretch their grocery budgets and afford nutritious foods. Given Cleveland’s high poverty rate, it’s not surprising that a much higher share of Cleveland households (31.3%) receives SNAP/food stamps than the roughly 12.5% of households across the state and nation. What is surprising, however, is that nearly 4 in 10 Cleveland households with incomes below poverty level do not receive supplemental nutrition benefits, according to the 2022 American Community Survey.

SNAP/SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 2030 BENCHMARKS

Focus on helping households living below or near the poverty line access the public benefits that they qualify for. Eligibility for SNAP also likely signals eligibility for other public benefits that can help with child care, heating costs, health care and emergency needs. Efforts to raise household incomes for those receiving SNAP and other public subsidies must consider the tradeoff between modest wage increases and potential loss of benefits that recipients face. Look for ways to turn the benefits “cliff” into a benefits “escalator,” supporting families in their efforts to rise not only out of poverty but toward sustainable upward economic mobility.