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, June 7, 2012: Skipping college leads to limited opportunity
"Ninety percent are paid hourly, with the current median hourly wage for full-time workers at just $9.25 -- barely sufficient to keep them out of poverty. 'It's striking how severe young people's problems are,' said Carl Van Horn, co-author of the study and the director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers. 'These are folks at the beginning of their work lives already feeling very pessimistic about themselves.'"
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 17, 2012: (Op-Ed) Improve senior care: Pennsylvania must rethink how it cares for low-income seniors
"With more than 300,000 residents age 85 and over, Pennsylvania's senior population is the largest it has ever been, and it is increasing at 10 times the rate of the rest of the population. Yet a proposed cut to the state budget would take away 4 percent of the funding -- $100 million -- for low-income seniors who receive at-home nursing care."
The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 16, 2012: Penn to team up with KIPP charters
"The national network of KIPP charter schools last spring announced plans to more than double the number of its low-income students who graduate from college, by partnering with colleges and universities that encourage KIPP students to apply and support those who enroll."
The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 15, 2012: Community College a ticket to freedom
"...[F]reedom is what CCP provided for Lopez and Joyner, who graduated with associate's degrees last week. Lopez, 26, earned a full ride to Bryn Mawr, and Joyner, 45, has been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 24, 2012: Student borrowing cost may be going up
"He noted that Pell grants, which help low-income students with higher education costs, are at the same maximum level of $5,550 as they were in 2010-11 and are to rise by $85 in 2013-14. Pell funding was cut $8 billion last year and nearly $2 billion this year, and now faces a funding shortfall, he said. "
The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 23, 2012: At high-poverty schools, lack of stability starts at the top
"Parent Dawn Hawkins says that has led to real turmoil at Hill, where virtually all students live below the poverty line and stable leadership is crucial. 'Changing principal to principal to principal - you can't get anything established like that,' said Hawkins, whose son, Khyrie Brown, is a sixth grader at Hill. 'We deserve a stable school so we can get to real learning, not starting over every few months.'"