Exploring Dallas Poverty in
Local, Regional, and National
Contexts
Dr. Timothy M. Bray
Will Rogers
“It’s not what we don’t know that
hurts us, it’s what we know that just ain’t
so!”
Regional Population Change, 2000-2014
4,145,659
2,218,889
1,167,205
6,371,773
2,368,139
1,197,816
6,954,003
2,518,638
1,281,031
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
6,000,000
7,000,000
8,000,000
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA Dallas County City of Dallas
Population
2000 2010 2014
Regional Poverty Rates, 2000-2014
11.3%
13.4%
17.8%
13.4%
19.2%
22.3%
14.8%
19.5%
24.5%
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
Dallas-Fort Worth - Arlington MSA Dallas County City of Dallas
Percent Below Poverty
2000 2010 2014
Dallas in the National Context
26 24.523.3 22.4 22.4 22 21 20.9
15.7
9.4
45.6 46.442.3 42.8 43.5
40.8 40.8 38.2
29.9
22.9
05
101520253035404550
Poverty and Near Poverty Rates, 2014Cities of 1 Million or More
Below 100% Poverty Below 185% Poverty
How is Poverty Defined?
How Much Is Enough?
How Much is Too Little?
"Mollie Orshansky 1967" by UnknownSocial Security Administration History Archives.Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Poverty in Dallas
Among Highest in
Poverty Rates
• In 2014, 25% of Dallas residents lived below the poverty line.
• 46% lived below 185% of the poverty line.
Poverty Outpaced
Population Growth
• Population grew by 8% from 2000-2014.
• Persons living in poverty grew by 49% from 2000-2014.
Children in Poverty
2000
Number of Children Living in Poverty
79,045
Percent of Children Living in Poverty
26%
Percent of Poor Who Are Children
38%
2014
Number of Children Living in Poverty
125,884
Percent of Children Living in Poverty
38%
Percent of Poor Who Are Children
41%
59% Increase Poor Children, 8% Increase PopHighest Poverty Rate and 2nd
Fastest Among Large Cities
Hispanics in Poverty
2000
Number of Hispanics Living in Poverty
101,705
Percent of Hispanics Living in Poverty
24%
Percent of the Poor Who Are Hispanic
49%
2014
Number of Hispanics Living in Poverty
156,104
Percent of Hispanics Living in Poverty
30%
Percent of the Poor Who Are Hispanic
50%
53% Increase Poor Persons, 8% Increase Pop3rd Largest Poverty Rate and 3rd
Fastest Among Large Cities
African Americans in Poverty
2000Number of African Americans Living in Poverty
72,320
Percent of African Americans Living in Poverty
24%
Percent of the Poor Who Are African American
35%
2014Number of African Americans Living in Poverty
98,888
Percent of African Americans Living in Poverty
32%
Percent of the Poor Who Are African American
32%
37% Increase Poor Persons, 2% Increase Pop2nd Largest Poverty Rate and 4th
Fastest Among Large Cities
Dallas in the Regional Context:
Poverty in Major Cities
Dallas in the State Context:
Poverty in Major Cities
Legend
City Limits
2010 Census Tracts
Change in Concentrated Poverty
No Longer Concentrated
Newly Concentrated
Remains Concentrated
1 inch = 8.29 miles
Change In Concentrated Poverty: 2000-2013
A Rising Tide… Can Changing Concentrated
Poverty Affect the Poverty of the Poor?
+1.9 -2.7
+3.1 +3.0
A Different World…
Poverty Impacts Brain Development
Economic Distress Impacts Civic
Participation
46% of Non-voters have family
incomes less than $30,000 per year.
Only 19% of likely voters are from
low-income families.
Poverty: Damaged Child
Dorothea Lange
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
1936 (Colorized by Kelly Short)
Annual Message to
Congress
December 1, 1862
“It is not ‘can any of us imagine better?’ but, ‘can we all do
better?’ The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to
the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with
difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act
anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall
save our country.”
-Abraham Lincoln
“Lincoln the Letter Writer”-Lloyd Ostendorf, 1987
For More Information
Dr. Timothy M. Bray
Institute for Urban Policy ResearchThe University of Texas at Dallas
800 West Campbell Road, WT20Richardson, Texas 75080
V: 972-883-5430F: 972-883-5431
[email protected]://iupr.utdallas.edu
@timothy_bray, @iuprdallas