Decline in Colorado’s poverty rate could be misleading, experts say

Fewer Coloradans live in poverty than a decade in the past — however specialists warning that the numbers do not mirror the financial realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Driving the information: The newest five-year figures from the 2016-2020 American Neighborhood Survey reveal 9.8% of Coloradans earned incomes under the federal poverty line ($12,760 for a single individual in 2020).

Actuality verify: The figures solely mirror a small a part of the pandemic’s influence on residents’ lives, Colorado state demographer Elizabeth Garner tells Axios Denver.

• Though the newest estimates think about information from COVID’s financial shock, in addition they comprise information collected within the closing years of the longest enlargement within the historical past of U.S. enterprise cycles, she notes.

What they’re saying: A pointy spike within the want for meals help all through the pandemic is a key indicator the survey numbers do not paint a whole image, native service suppliers inform Axios Denver.

• The Meals Financial institution of the Rockies is experiencing a 34% spike in demand in comparison with pre-pandemic ranges and amid inflation, which is forcing triple the month-to-month spend on meals, spokesperson Aditi Desai says.
• Simply 4 months into the 12 months, Denver Rescue Mission has already served about half the meals it did in all of 2021, when it dished out over 750,000 plates, meals providers director Kevin Baker notes.
• In the meantime, first-time homelessness in metro Denver doubled between 2020 and 2021, in keeping with the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative.

By the numbers: Within the metro space, Denver and Boulder counties accounted for Colorado’s highest poverty charges at 11.9% and 11.2%, respectively.

• Rural counties in southern Colorado confirmed the very best poverty charges statewide, with Crowley County main at 26.8%.
• Douglas County, simply south of Denver, had the bottom poverty price within the state at 3.2%.

The massive image: Colorado’s poverty ranges stay decrease than the nationwide common of 12.8%, which declined from 15.5% between 2011 and 2015.