2019 State Report for County-Level Data: Poverty

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the following individuals who have contributed to the success of this effort: Deb Brucker, Erin Dame, Ferris Al Kurabi, Kate Filanoski, Kim Phillips, Karen Volle, Romy Eberle and Toni Sumner-Beebe.

Funding for this publication is made possible by:

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC), funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), grant number 90RTGE0001; and the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy and Measurement (EPM-RRTC), also funded by NIDILRR, grant number 90RT5037. The information developed by the StatsRRTC and EPM-RRTC does not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government (Edgar, 75.620 (b)).

The StatsRRTC and EPM-RRTC are part of the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. The Institute on Disability/UCED (IOD) was established in 1987 to provide a university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of people with disabilities and their families and is New Hampshire’s University Center for Excellence in Disability (UCED). Located within the University of New Hampshire, the IOD is a federally designated center authorized by the Developmental Disabilities Act. Through innovative and interdisciplinary research, academic, service, and dissemination initiatives, the IOD builds local, state, and national capacities to respond to the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families.

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2019 Iowa Report for County-Level Data: Poverty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on

Disability Statistics and Demographics

A NIDILRR-Funded Center

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Introduction

The State Reports for County-Level Data on Poverty are designed to provide the users of disability statistics with the number and percentage in poverty for civilians with disabilities, ages 18 to 64 years and living in the community, for any given state and county in the United States (U.S.). This report is intended to be an online complement to Section 3: Poverty of the Annual Disability Statistics Compendium and Annual Disability Statistics Supplement, providing greater detail within each state. The State Reports for County-Level Data on Poverty can be used to compare county-level statistics between counties in any given state or states. The following report provides county-level statistics for Iowa.

The proportion of the civilian non-institutionalized population with disabilities in poverty, also called the poverty rate, presented in the State Reports for County-Level Data is a useful tool for advocates, researchers, and policy-makers to plan and provide services and supports for people with disabilities experiencing poverty. In this report, poverty of people with disabilities is presented as the number of civilians with disabilities, ages 18 to 64 years and living in the community, in a given state and county per total state and county populations, respectively. Counts and percentages (the poverty rate) are provided in tables and maps.

The data for this report come from the American Community Survey 5-year data. The American Community Survey (ACS) is a national survey developed by the U.S. Census Bureau to provide information on a number of topics about social, economic, and demographic characteristics of the U.S. population. ACS 5-year data is collected over a longer period of time than 1-year data, providing larger sample sizes and increased reliability for less populated areas and small population subgroups. All of the statistics in this report use the ACS 5-year data which includes data from the year of this report and data from the four previous years. In the ACS, people are identified as having a disability based on responses to a series of six questions asking about having difficulties with vision, hearing, ambulation, cognition, self-care, and independent living (see glossary for further details). 

Poverty is defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and set as a dollar threshold by the U.S. Census Bureau (see the glossary for further details).

 

Specific to Iowa, the state chosen for this report, sentences providing interpretation and context for poverty statistics are included on the following page. A short glossary of terms is also provided at the end of the report explaining the statistics that are illustrated in each sentence.

Additional Resources. The Annual Disability Statistics Compendium and its complement, the Annual Disability Statistics Supplement, are summaries of statistics about people with disabilities, available both in hard copy and online at https://www.disabilitycompendium.org

Help navigating any of the resources described here can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions section at https://www.disabilitycompendium.org/faq. Assistance interpreting and locating additional statistics is available via our toll-free number, 866-538-9521, or by email, disability.statistics@unh.edu. For more information about our research projects, please visit https://www.researchondisability.org.

Suggested Citation. Paul, S., Rafal, M., & Houtenville, A. (2020). 2019 State Report for Iowa County-Level Data: Poverty. Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability.

Interpretation

The following statements are designed to help understand the 2019 county-level poverty statistics from Iowa that are presented:

 

  • For people with disabilities: 

    • The poverty rate for people with disabilities in Iowa was 26.1%.
    • The range, also known as the difference between largest and smallest values, of poverty rates for people with disabilities across Iowa counties was 29.7%.
      • The county with the greatest poverty rate for people with disabilities was Decatur (40.6%).
      • The county with the smallest poverty rate for people with disabilities was Madison (10.9%).
    • The median, also known as the middle-most, poverty rate for people with disabilities across all counties in Iowa was 25.7%.

 

  • For people without disabilities: 
    • The poverty rate for people without disabilities in Iowa was 10.2%.
    • The range, also known as the difference between largest and smallest values, of poverty rates for people without disabilities across Iowa counties was 23.4%.
      • The county with the greatest poverty rate for people without disabilities was Story (27.0%).
      • The county with the smallest poverty rate for people without disabilities was Grundy (3.6%).
    • The median, also known as the middle-most, poverty rate for people without disabilities across all counties in Iowa was 8.4%.
Civilians with and without Disabilities in Poverty Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for Iowa, by County: 2019
County Disability No Disability   County Disability No Disability
Total Count % [1] Total Count % [2] Total Count % [1] Total Count % [2]
    Iowa      171,432 44,814 26.1 1,649,180 168,704 10.2     Davis         396    110 27.8     4,328     315  7.3
    Adair         578    122 21.1     3,417     287  8.4    Decatur        419    170 40.6     3,613     662 18.3
    Adams         188     37 19.7     1,855     260 14.0   Delaware        675    178 26.4     9,112     541  5.9
  Allamakee       579    127 21.9     6,879     722 10.5  Des Moines     2,670    875 32.8    19,551   2,571 13.2
  Appanoose       990    316 31.9     5,872     912 15.5   Dickinson     1,023    134 13.1     8,448     782  9.3
   Audubon        308     82 26.6     2,748     219  8.0    Dubuque      4,988  1,321 26.5    50,288   4,821  9.6
   Benton       1,186    351 29.6    13,732     904  6.6     Emmet         553     96 17.4     4,294     424  9.9
 Black Hawk     7,738  2,328 30.1    70,772  10,973 15.5    Fayette      1,339    335 25.0     9,816   1,024 10.4
    Boone       1,777    346 19.5    14,084     917  6.5     Floyd       1,073    302 28.1     7,723     929 12.0
   Bremer       1,030    213 20.7    12,221     903  7.4   Franklin        316     85 26.9     5,374     636 11.8
  Buchanan      1,019    190 18.6    10,606     764  7.2    Fremont        470    130 27.7     3,407     263  7.7
 Buena Vista      868    134 15.4    10,206     995  9.7    Greene         542     70 12.9     4,341     336  7.7
   Butler         657    214 32.6     7,268     557  7.7    Grundy         524    120 22.9     6,387     232  3.6
   Calhoun        436    119 27.3     4,445     499 11.2    Guthrie        459    108 23.5     5,406     328  6.1
   Carroll        864    265 30.7    10,401     623  6.0   Hamilton        760    204 26.8     7,709     613  8.0
    Cass          822    327 39.8     6,313     659 10.4    Hancock        575    120 20.9     5,470     448  8.2
    Cedar         872    137 15.7     9,754     533  5.5    Hardin         769    145 18.9     8,682     703  8.1
 Cerro Gordo    2,886    741 25.7    21,656   1,823  8.4   Harrison        747    256 34.3     7,330     512  7.0
  Cherokee        705    168 23.8     5,451     601 11.0     Henry       1,203    228 19.0     9,507     776  8.2
  Chickasaw       753    182 24.2     6,089     271  4.5    Howard         385    146 37.9     4,609     325  7.1
   Clarke         849    167 19.7     4,453     467 10.5   Humboldt        681    247 36.3     4,623     441  9.5
    Clay          976    167 17.1     8,080     646  8.0      Ida          319    106 33.2     3,439     363 10.6
   Clayton      1,064    337 31.7     8,709     708  8.1     Iowa          750    122 16.3     8,644     779  9.0
   Clinton      2,997    939 31.3    23,920   2,700 11.3    Jackson      1,014    284 28.0    10,068   1,034 10.3
  Crawford      1,293    321 24.8     8,583   1,362 15.9    Jasper       2,140    528 24.7    18,302   1,445  7.9
   Dallas       2,742    476 17.4    49,547   2,259  4.6   Jefferson     1,266    360 28.4     9,361     979 10.5
Civilians with and without Disabilities in Poverty Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for Iowa, by County: 2019
County Disability No Disability   County Disability No Disability
Total Count % [1] Total Count % [2] Total Count % [1] Total Count % [2]
   Johnson      5,314  1,717 32.3    89,564  18,860 21.1 Pottawattamie   6,790  1,697 25.0    47,190   3,956  8.4
    Jones         895    248 27.7    10,172     739  7.3   Poweshiek       704    222 31.5     8,961     901 10.1
   Keokuk         722    194 26.9     4,921     386  7.8   Ringgold        280     55 19.6     2,269     137  6.0
   Kossuth      1,051    268 25.5     7,156     660  9.2      Sac          375    101 26.9     4,945     403  8.1
     Lee        2,765    720 26.0    16,389   1,842 11.2     Scott       9,209  2,575 28.0    92,886   9,173  9.9
    Linn       10,854  2,689 24.8   122,355  10,674  8.7    Shelby         629    109 17.3     5,710     386  6.8
   Louisa         487    156 32.0     6,058     491  8.1     Sioux       1,074    195 18.2    17,120     918  5.4
    Lucas         597    206 34.5     4,125     371  9.0     Story       3,611  1,051 29.1    55,659  15,022 27.0
    Lyon          418     62 14.8     5,890     225  3.8     Tama          697    126 18.1     8,881     888 10.0
   Madison        706     77 10.9     8,567     385  4.5    Taylor         423     90 21.3     2,924     256  8.8
   Mahaska      1,446    487 33.7    11,057   1,316 11.9     Union         917    296 32.3     6,062     773 12.8
   Marion       2,091    518 24.8    16,157     862  5.3   Van Buren       463    119 25.7     3,425     408 11.9
  Marshall      2,146    553 25.8    20,475   2,080 10.2    Wapello      2,495    882 35.4    18,035   2,064 11.4
    Mills       1,229    299 24.3     7,433     453  6.1    Warren       2,628    518 19.7    25,945   1,679  6.5
  Mitchell        533    104 19.5     5,253     296  5.6  Washington     1,200    243 20.3    11,244     871  7.7
   Monona         558    184 33.0     4,245     585 13.8     Wayne         395    116 29.4     3,004     364 12.1
   Monroe         447    112 25.1     3,963     324  8.2    Webster      2,558    925 36.2    17,361   1,860 10.7
 Montgomery       702    204 29.1     4,890     470  9.6   Winnebago       586    128 21.8     4,984     296  5.9
  Muscatine     2,001    394 19.7    23,031   1,822  7.9  Winneshiek       797    166 20.8     9,670     661  6.8
   O'Brien      1,100    266 24.2     6,576     556  8.5   Woodbury      6,480  1,932 29.8    52,229   5,190  9.9
   Osceola        290     83 28.6     3,066     287  9.4     Worth         516    107 20.7     3,851     240  6.2
    Page          941    279 29.6     7,207     746 10.4    Wright         729    194 26.6     6,126     491  8.0
  Palo Alto       699    136 19.5     4,074     167  4.1                                                         
  Plymouth      1,280    295 23.0    12,955     798  6.2                                                         
 Pocahontas       526    167 31.7     3,230     268  8.3                                                         
    Polk       27,845  6,963 25.0   264,997  22,258  8.4                                                         
Count of Civilians in Poverty with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for Iowa, by County: 2019

Poverty Rate for Civilians with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for Iowa, by County: 2019

Discussion

There are a number of concepts and factors which complicate the interpretation of the estimates presented in this report. These concerns affect all statistics from population-based surveys. The estimates included in this document should be interpreted the following limitations in mind and generalized with caution. In each point, a link to the U.S. Census Bureau website describing the limitation or concept in greater detail in the ACS has been provided.

Additional links to resources for the ACS:

Glossary

American Community Survey (ACS) — The American Community Survey is a large, continuous demographic survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that will provide accurate and up-to-date profiles of America’s communities every year. Annual and multiyear estimates of population and housing data are generated for small areas, including tracts and population subgroups. This information is collected by mailing questionnaires to a sample of addresses. See the U.S. Census Bureau website for additional details.

The Six Disability Questions in the American Community Survey:

  1. Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing? (yes or no)
  2. Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? (yes or no)
  3. (If person 5 years old or over) Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? (yes or no)
  4. (If person 5 years or old over) Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? (yes or no)
  5. (If person 5 years old or over) Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing? (yes or no)
  6. (If person 15 years old or over) Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping? (yes or no)

Average — The sum of all of the values in a sample divided by the number of values in the sample.

Civilian — A person not in active-duty military.

Living in the Community – A person lives in the community, if the person is not living in an institution, such as jail, prison, nursing home, and hospital. A college dormitory is not considered an institution.

Median — The middle-most value of a sample that separates the upper half of the values from the lower half of the values. 

Non-Institutionalized Population — Describes individuals who are residing in the community and who are not living in institutions such as jails, prisons, nursing homes, hospitals, etc.

 

Population — The total number of inhabitants in a defined geographic area including all races, classes, and groups.

Poverty — The U.S. Office of Management and Budget in Statistical Policy, Directive 14 sets the standards for which poverty is calculated. The U.S. Census Bureau uses a set of dollar value thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is in poverty. If a family’s total income is less than the dollar value of the appropriate threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered to be in poverty.

Poverty Rate — Percent of the population who are determined to be in poverty.

Range — The difference between the largest and smallest values in a sample. In a sample, when the smallest value is subtracted from the largest value the resulting value is called the range. 

Sampling Variability — The variation of a statistic when estimated from repeated samples.

United States Census Bureau — An agency within the United States Federal Statistical System tasked with producing data about the American people and economy. Their primary task is to conduct the United States Census every ten years.

About the Center

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC)

Led by the University of New Hampshire, the StatsRRTC is a collaborative effort involving the following partners: American Association of People with Disabilities, Center for Essential Management Services, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, Kessler Foundation, Mathematica Policy Research, and Public Health Institute.

The StatsRRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research under grant number 90RTGE0001, from 2018–2023.

Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (EPM-RRTC)

Led by the University of New Hampshire, the EPM-RRTC is a collaborative effort involving the following partners: Association of University Centers on Disability, Hunter College, Kessler Foundation, Mathematica Policy Research, and the University of Chicago.

The EPM-RRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research under grant number 90RT503701, from 2015–2020.

Contact Information
University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability
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Durham, NH 03824
Toll-Free Telephone/TTY: 866-538-9521
E-mail: Disability.Statistics@unh.edu
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