Each year, the U.S. Census releases new data on poverty, income, and health insurance. While the Official Poverty Measure is known to be out of date (a family of four was considered above the poverty line in 2023 if they made above $30,000), the Census also publishes a more realistic measure called the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). The SPM counts some economic assistance programs, differences in housing expenses based on where you live, and includes federal and state taxes, work expenses, and medical expenses.
No measure is perfect, but the more data we have, the better we can see how Mainers are getting by, and what needs to change so that more of us can find stability and thrive.
At Maine Equal Justice, what we see in the 2023 numbers reminds us that policy decisions directly affect whether people living in poverty have opportunities to gain economic security. In other words, poverty is not inevitable. In the richest nation in the world, we have enough resources to meet everyone’s needs.
We can see the role that economic assistance programs like food assistance (SNAP), Social Security Insurance (SSI), housing subsidies (such as Section 8 vouchers), and refundable tax credits like the EITC play in lifting people above the poverty line. In 2023 alone, refundable tax credits lifted 6.4 million people above the poverty line; SNAP lifted 3.4 million, and housing subsidies lifted 2.8 million people above the poverty line.
Even though important economic indicators like household income are up, the data also show that there are persistent disparities across race and gender lines (for example, increases in median income were concentrated among white households and men’s earnings outpaced women’s). It’s critical that policymakers write our laws to address these differences head on, so that all Mainers can enjoy financial security and the opportunities that it provides.
The Child Tax Credit
Do you remember the federal Child Tax Credit? This was a massively successful anti-poverty intervention, passed during the pandemic, that provided additional monthly cash assistance to families with children. Nationally, child poverty was cut nearly in half when the enhanced CTC was in effect (to a historic low of 5.2%), but after it expired, the child poverty rate spiked.
Data this year continues to show how critical it is for families with low income, who used it to pay for necessities like child care, clothing, food, and rent. Child poverty in the U.S. has increased 163% since 2021, from a rate of 5.2% (3.82 million) to 13.7% (9.96 million) in 2023, resulting in an additional 6.2 million kids in poverty. Columbia University found that if we had kept the enhanced CTC in law, an additional 3.6 million children would have been kept out of poverty in 2023. We know the policies that work, now we need Congress to find the political will to bring back the enhanced CTC.
In Maine, we strengthened our own version of the CTC, by making our existing Child and Dependent Tax Credit “fully refundable,” meaning the credit is now available to people with the lowest incomes who need it the most. Our state credit ($300 per child) is significantly smaller than the enhanced federal Child Tax Credit (up to $3,600 per child!) though, and we need Congress to reinstate it. Reinstating the federal credit would benefit 142,000 Maine families who are responsible for 229,000 children in our state.
Housing
Lack of access to safe, affordable housing is a major issue nationally, and continues to be a challenge for tens of thousands of Mainers. In our community listening and outreach, housing remains the number one concern for people with low-income.
2023 Census data shows that nationally and in Maine nearly half of renters spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs. The largest rental assistance program in the U.S., the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, only funds vouchers for one in every five families who are eligible. So while this program helps keep many families housed and lifts millions above the poverty line, the need for housing support is increasing each year.
Over time, renters’ incomes haven’t been able to keep pace with increased housing costs. Nationally, since 2001, rent has increased by 23.4% while renters’ incomes have increased only 5.3%. Most eviction filings in Maine are for non-payment of rent or another cause, leaving many people homeless. Affordable housing is a racial justice issue, with Black Mainers representing 41% of the homeless population while only making up 2% of Maine’s total population.
What happens when the rents outpace incomes by so much? In Maine, one consequence is that many people need help from our General Assistance (GA) program for emergency rent support. But GA often caps housing assistance below market-rate rents, which effectively excludes renters with the lowest incomes from most of the rental market. GA is also less appealing to landlords because it requires a new application every 30 days, which cannot be counted as a consistent ongoing source of funds for a rental unit. (MEJ’s lawyers have prevented some evictions where landlords were initially not willing to accept GA payment.)
This year’s Census data confirms what we all have heard and seen: housing is an enormous need that requires federal and state resources and policy changes. Maine is about to launch an eviction prevention pilot that will provide some renters with badly needed financial support. Investing in dedicated rental supports like these, to help Maine’s lowest income renters get by in a very tough market, as well as building more affordable homes and bolstering our shelters, should be top priorities for the legislature.
Health insurance coverage
Health insurance coverage rates are at an all-time high (meaning people in the U.S. who are going without any health insurance is at an all-time low, 7.9%). A bump in Affordable Care Act marketplace premium tax credits (enacted in 2021), pandemic-era protections, including Medicaid continuous coverage (March 2020 – March 2023), and Maine’s decision to expand Medicaid have all contributed to our comparably low uninsured rate of 5.9%.
And yet we know these gains are not evenly distributed. The data paints a very different picture when you zoom in on income, race, and immigration status. While Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Latino Mainers make up a relatively small portion of the state’s population, each group has uninsured rates higher than the national average and near or above 10%. Immigrants are largely invisible in these numbers, but we know that there are adults and elders in our state who are excluded from access to comprehensive health care coverage, based solely on their immigration status. We believe one of the most impactful steps Maine can take to address health disparities is to ensure that everyone who is income-eligible can access our Medicaid program, regardless of their age, national origin, or immigration status.
Poverty is not inevitable
Maine ought to be a place where everyone has enough food in the fridge, a place to call home, and access to affordable health care. In reality, many in our state are going without necessities and do not have a fair chance at getting ahead–but 2023’s data show that change is possible! with policies that boost incomes and allow more families to afford the basics.
Far from being inevitable, poverty, racial disparities, and equitable opportunities are all things we can change.
Want to read more? Our partners at Maine Center for Economic Policy have more state numbers to dive into. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has more about national trends.Note: the U.S. Census data referenced throughout have differing margins of errors and caution should be used when interpreting the data.
Maine Equal Justice focuses its work on many of the issues that affect people’s daily lives – access to adequate health care, housing, transportation and childcare; food and income security; and higher education and training. Maine Equal Justice is a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization. Our EIN is 04-3346273. 