Pennsylvania
State Government
Governor
Josh Shapiro (D)
State Senate
22
Democrats,
28
Republicans
State House
102
Democrats,
101
Republicans
Economic well-being - Pennsylvania
Extreme poverty rate
0.07
Food insecurity
0.132
Minimum wage
7.25
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.273
Poverty rate
11.6%
Unemployment rate
4
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
5.8
Poverty by demographic - Pennsylvania
Child poverty rate
0.15
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
29000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
191000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
215000
Senior poverty rate
10.4 %
Women in poverty
6,429,348
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 11, 2013: Outreach aimed at integrating Pittsburgh high-rise tenants, community
"High-rise apartments can reinforce the sense of isolation that already threatens low-income elders. Add security guards and a management office that, like a school principal's, is located near the front door, and the greater neighborhood can seem remote. So some community advocates are trying to connect high-rise residents to their neighborhoods."
The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 25, 2013: (Editorial) The better students eat, the more they learn
"If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why are so many public-school students needlessly going hungry? Only 35 percent of New Jersey's 471,714 children eligible for a free or reduced-price meal received breakfast at school last year. That's among the lowest participation rates in the country. New Jersey ranks 46th in the number of low-income students who get breakfast at school. Pennsylvania is 36th. Nationally, only about 50 percent of students in the reduced or free lunch program eat a school breakfast."
The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 09, 2013: Nonprofit that helps students in need gets $1 million
"The money is transformational' for Futures, whose annual budget is about $2.8 million. It will support the organization's strategic plan and fund a new program that could annually help up to 800 low-income, first-generation-to-college students with precollege guidance and continuing support through college graduation, Mazzotti said."
Sunday News, January 05, 2013: Poverty pursues local pupils
"The Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates show eight of Lancaster County's 17 school districts with higher child poverty numbers in 2011 compared with the previous year, and eight with lower numbers. One district, Cocalico, stayed the same. At least the percentages seem to have stabilized. From 2009 to 2010, on the other hand, 16 of 17 districts saw an increase in child poverty rates."
The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 19, 2012: William Penn Foundation plans grants for arts, environment
"The grants signal implementation of the foundation's new 10-year strategic vision, which focuses on closing the achievement gap for low-income children, protecting the region's water quality, and making its creative community more vibrant."
The Washington Post, December 08, 2012: In Rust Belt, a teenager's climb from poverty
"She knew that colleges sent out millions of letters to 11th-graders who took the Princeton Review prep course. The whole Dear Tabitha campaign was about as personal as fliers from Tire Express. But nearing the end of her junior year of high school, without a single item of value to secure her future not even a $50 U.S. savings bond from a departed relative the mail was all she had."