Poverty in the City of Buffalo
Irene Pijuan
1. What is the poverty rate in Buffalo and Erie County?
Data released in 2008 by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that 28.7 percent of
Buffalo’s population lives below the federal poverty level, 41.7 percent of whom
are under the age of 18, and 15 percent of whom are 65 and older. Erie County,
with a poverty rate of 13.8 percent, has the largest concentration of the poor of
any upstate county with 122,338 people listed as living in poverty.1
One in three adults in Buffalo lives below the federal poverty line, which is in the
$10,000 range for a single person and $21,000 for a family of four. An income of
$10,000 a year translates into $9.25 a day (after deductions for average Buffalo
rent and per-diem clothing costs). Right now 43% of children in Buffalo are
growing up poor, 22% percent of children are living in what is called "extreme
poverty" - a standard of living so low it is half of the federal poverty level, about
$10,000 a year for a family of four.2
2. How does Buffalo compare to other large cities in the U.S. in terms of
poverty?
The latest estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008 puts Buffalo as America’s
third-poorest big city.3 Detroit maintained in the No. 1 spot at 33.8 percent and
Cleveland followed at 29.5 percent. Buffalo's median household income of
$29,706 is third-lowest among large cities. Buffalo faces severe issues of vacant
and abandoned houses, ranking second only to St. Louis on the list of American
cities with the most vacant properties per capita.4
1
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/sep2008/nyun-s18.shtml
2
Vogel, Charity “Is the American Dream Still Possible for the Poor Kids of Buffalo? The Buffalo News
10-27-08
3
Big city defined as population over 250,000
4
Belson, Ken. “Vacant houses, scourge of beaten down buffalo” NY Times September 13, 2007
Updated 11/15.08 1
3. Who lives in poverty in Western New York?
PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES AND PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IN THE PAST
12 MONTHS IS BELOW THE POVERTY LEVEL
All families 23.6% +/-2.8 (X) (X)
With related children under 18 years 36.5% +/-4.6 (X) (X)
With related children under 5 years only 30.3% +/-11.3 (X) (X)
Married couple families 8.4% +/-3.3 (X) (X)
With related children under 18 years 13.1% +/-6.4 (X) (X)
With related children under 5 years only 0.0% +/-9.1 (X) (X)
Families with female householder, no husband present 41.0% +/-4.8 (X) (X)
With related children under 18 years 53.4% +/-6.2 (X) (X)
With related children under 5 years only 53.4% +/-15.5 (X) (X)
All people 28.7% +/-2.5 (X) (X)
Under 18 years 41.7% +/-5.8 (X) (X)
Related children under 18 years 41.2% +/-5.9 (X) (X)
Related children under 5 years 41.2% +/-9.1 (X) (X)
Related children 5 to 17 years 41.2% +/-5.9 (X) (X)
18 years and over 24.5% +/-1.9 (X) (X)
18 to 64 years 26.2% +/-2.2 (X) (X)
65 years and over 15.0% +/-3.2 (X) (X)
People in families 25.8% +/-3.4 (X) (X)
Unrelated individuals 15 years and over 36.2% +/-3.0 (X) (X)
5
Poverty Rate by Race and Ethnicity (2005 data)6:
Non-Hispanic White Black Hispanic
Buffalo Niagara 8.7% 32.3% 29.8%
Erie County (outside 7.0% 20.9% 12.6%
Buffalo)
Homeless Population of Buffalo and Erie County:
More than 1 in 4 homeless people in Buffalo and Erie County (26.8%) are
children under age 18; 24.6% are between the ages 18 and 30; 37.6% are 31-
50; 8% of are ages 51‐61, and 1.6% are 62 or older. 7
According to the Homeless Alliance’s 2008 survey of the local homeless
population, 56.9% of the sheltered homeless population identified as
African‐American while 38.8% identified as white. When clients were asked
about their prior living situation (housing before entering shelter or living on
the streets), 33% indicated that they had been living doubled or tripled up with
5
U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 American Community Survey,
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_DP3&-
geo_id=16000US3611000&-ds_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false
6
http://www.regional-institute.buffalo.edu/includes/UserDownloads/Oct06_Poverty.pdf
7
Homeless Alliance of Western New York
http://www.wnyhomeless.org/sitepages/publications/research/2008%20Annual%20Profile%20Final.pdf
Updated 11/15.08 2
friends and families. According to research, “doubling‐up” is a common
precursor to homeless. “These people are referred to as “precariously housed,”
meaning that they are just one step away from being HUD‐defined
homeless.”8
4. What is the educational level of people living below the poverty line?
Poverty rate among high school graduates not in families: 28%9
Poverty rate among people who did not graduate high school not in
families: 44.6%10
The Buffalo Public Schools’ four year high school graduation rate
is only 46%11
According to 2005 income data, individuals in Buffalo Niagara with only a high
school diploma or GED had median earnings of $26,723 in 2005, $6,700 more
than those who did not finish high school.12
5. What is the family composition of people living below the poverty
line?
Nearly two out of three families living in poverty in our community have a single
woman as a head of household.13 Seven percent of poor families have a single
father, and sixteen percent are married couple households. 14 The number of
children growing up in poverty without fathers at home includes 5,388 of the
city’s youngest children, those under age 5.15
8
Homeless Alliance of Western New York
http://www.wnyhomeless.org/sitepages/publications/research/2008%20Annual%20Profile%20Final.pdf
9
U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 American Community Survey,
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_DP3&-
geo_id=16000US3611000&-ds_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false
10
City-data.com
11
Vogel, Charity and Peter Simon “Fight Against Poverty focuses on the youngest” The Buffalo News
11.10.2008
12
http://www.regional-institute.buffalo.edu/includes/UserDownloads/Poverty_10_06.pdf
13
Doherty, Brigid. Executive Director WNY Women's Fund “Let's level playing field, lift women out of poverty”
The Buffalo News Inc. October 17, 2008
14
http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Buffalo-New-York.html
15
Vogel, Charity
Updated 11/15.08 3
6. What is the rate of disability for the low-income population?
Disability rate among poor males: 33.0%
Disability rate among poor females: 33.8%16
7. Where is poverty concentrated in the city of Buffalo?
Poverty in Buffalo is concentrated in the East and West sides, where many of the
residents are African-American and Latino.17 The West side has 42% of its
residents living in poverty and one of the highest abandoned property rates in the
nation.18 The East side is where many wealth-producing industries are located,
But there is no relationship between those industries and the neighborhoods
around them, according to Henry Taylor, director of the Center for Urban Studies
at the University at Buffalo. “So the wealth being produced on the East Side is
subsidizing every other section of the city, and we don’t want to admit that, and
we certainly don’t want to fight for policies to change that.”19
8. What barriers prevent them from leaving poverty? Are steps are
being taken to address these barriers?
Education- Children living in poverty have little exposure to books or literacy-
rich environments, often because their parents might have had little education
themselves. Many children are already far below grade level when they arrive at
school and are unlikely to ever catch up.
Unemployment - Business First of Buffalo reports that the Buffalo
unemployment rate for August 2008 is 6%, up from 4.5% during the same period
in 2007. The Buffalo area has the highest jobless rate of the measured
metropolitan areas in NY state. This is the highest unemployment rate for August
in this decade, topping 5.8 percent in 2003.20
16
http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Buffalo-New-York.html
17
PUSH news oct 2007
18
Galinsky, Lara “Anti-Poverty Organizer With New Model for Revitalizing Hard-Hit Rust Belt
Neighborhoods Named Among World’s Best Emerging Social Change Entrepreneurs by Echoing Green”
http://www.speakupwny.com/article_2156.shtml
19
Meyer, Brian “Mayor Brown says Buffalo is 'turning a corner' in fight against poverty” The Buffalo
News August 31 2007.
20
http://homelessalliance.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/buffalo-unemployment-rate-jumped-in-august/
Updated 11/15.08 4
Wages- The federal minimum wage is $7.15 an hour. Working full‐time at a
rate of $7.15 per hour, 40 hours a week, results in a yearly pre‐tax income of
$14,872, which while above the governmentally‐defined poverty level for a
single person, still results in what most people consider poverty, even for a single
person, much more so for a family.21 This leads many to choose between paying
their rent or paying for food. Families are unable to put away savings and are left
one or two steps from homelessness.
Forty percent of the work-eligible homeless in Buffalo and Erie County are
employed. Those who are employed cannot afford a home with their wages.
Additionally, 42% of homeless and very low income individuals have had to turn
down a job in the last 6 months because there was not a transportation route
(metro rail, bus line, etc.) to get there.22
The Living Wage Ordinance applies to all City of Buffalo employees as well as to
all employees of contractors with City contracts worth more than $50,000 and
who employ more than 10 people. The 2008 living wage is $9.90 with health
benefits, yielding an annual wage of $20,592, and $11.11 without health benefits,
yielding an annual wage of $23,108. On January1, 2009 the living wage rate will
increase to $10.31 with health benefits and $11.57 with benefits. 23
Unrealistic poverty line numbers- Buffalo’s Deputy Mayor Donna Brown
called the current poverty line guidelines “old” and “antiquated.”24 She went on to
say, “I think poverty here might be a lot starker than we think.” 25 At the National
Center for Children in Poverty at the Mailman School of Public Health at
Columbia University, poverty experts have put together a “basic needs budget”
that they say more accurately reflects what it costs to get by in Buffalo and in
other U. S. cities in 2008.26 If a family of four in Buffalo has an income of less
than $21,027 a year, that’s considered living below the federal poverty line. For
that same family of four (two parents and two children) living in Western New
York, their “basic needs” number is $49,314 — more than double the current
21
“Buffalo and Erie County Annual Homelessness Profile” Spring 2008 Homeless Alliance of WNY
22
http://homelessalliance.wordpress.com/myths-and-facts/
23
www.city-buffalo.com/Home/CityServices/Living_Wage_Commission.
24
Vogel, Charity “Poverty Line Numbers Don’t Add up in 2008” The Buffalo News
25
Id.
26
Id.
Updated 11/15.08 5
federal standard. For a single-parent home with two kids, the center’s “basic
needs” figure is $45,109. 27
27
Id.
Updated 11/15.08 6