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This information is pre-Katrina. Although the information on this page is out-of-date, we are continuing to make it available, as it provides insight about this parish pre-Katrina. You may find outdated information and broken links. For current data about the Greater New Orleans area, visit our homepage.

Orleans Parish: Income & Poverty

Data Tables:  People & Household Characteristics, Housing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Schools & Testing, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Health, Public Safety, Voting, Parish Characteristics

Income and poverty are obviously part of a large and complex system. With this in mind, we've included advice on interpreting the data on this page, with the aim to help you use the numbers most effectively for program planning and grantwriting.

Sources of income

People can have more than one source of income. The indicators we've compiled look at the percent of households that reported each type of income. We hope that this approach will paint a useful picture of how households in the parish get their income.

What these numbers cannot tell you is whether each of these categories of reported income is the primary source or whether, for example, self-employment is a second job.

Definitions and source links
Household income type (2000)			Orleans Parish	Louisiana	United States
Total households			188,365	1,657,107	105,539,122
	Wage or salary income		73.3%	75.4%	77.7%
	Self-employment income		8.7%	9.8%	11.9%
	Social Security income		24.7%	25.2%	25.7%
	Supplemental security income		7.8%	6.1%	4.4%
	Public assistance income		5.4%	3.3%	3.4%
Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org> Note: Types of income will add up to more than 100% due to people reporting more than one source of income. Income & income distribution The preferred measure for income is median, rather than average, because medians are not affected by extreme values. Below, you'll find median values for Orleans Parish, Louisiana and the US. In the next table, you'll find average values. We've included both, but you'll want to use median income whenever possible. Definitions and source links
Median household income (2000)			Orleans Parish	Louisiana	United States
Median household income			$27,133	$32,566	$41,994
Average household income (2000)			Orleans Parish	Louisiana	United States
Average household income			$43,176	$44,833	$56,644
	Average household income for households reporting less than $200,000		$35,693	$40,183	$49,239
	Average household income for households reporting more than $200,000		$381,840	$367,701	$361,490
Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org> Definitions and source links
Income distribution (2000)			Orleans Parish	Louisiana	United States
Total households			188,365	1,657,107	105,539,122
	Less than $10,000		21.0%	15.7%	9.5%
	$10,000-14,999		9.6%	8.6%	6.3%
	$15,000-19,999		8.3%	7.6%	6.3%
	$20,000-24,999		7.5%	7.4%	6.6%
	$25,000-29,999		7.2%	7.0%	6.4%
	$30,000-34,999		6.3%	6.5%	6.4%
	$35,000-39,999		5.4%	5.9%	5.9%
	$40,000-44,999		4.6%	5.3%	5.7%
	$45,000-49,999		4.0%	4.5%	5.0%
	$50,000-59,999		6.1%	7.9%	9.0%
	$60,000-74,999		6.5%	8.6%	10.4%
	$75,000-99,999		5.7%	7.6%	10.2%
	$100,000-124,999		2.8%	3.4%	5.2%
	$125,000-149,999		1.4%	1.4%	2.5%
	$150,000-199,999		1.4%	1.2%	2.2%
	$200,000 or more		2.2%	1.4%	2.4%
Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>
Poverty status Most experts agree that the Census' definition of poverty is flawed. The Census still uses the federal definition for poverty that was first created in 1964. Although it has been adjusted for inflation, it had some flaws back then, and it has even more flaws now. The original calculations were based on studies from the early 1960s that indicated that family food costs were about one third of a family’s budget. At that time, no similar studies on a family’s housing costs existed. So, the federal government simply estimated the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet in 1964 and multiplied that by three to come up with a minimum family budget. But housing costs have risen much faster than food costs since 1964. Download the Working Hard, Earning Less (in PDF format) factbook from the National Priorities Project for a calculation of a “livable wage” budget for different family sizes in Louisiana based on the costs of basic food, housing, transportation, day care, health care, clothing, telephone and taxes. Today food costs are estimated to be only 20-25% of a family's budget, so multiplying food costs by three would not be enough to pay for basic needs today – yet that is the assumption behind the current poverty estimates. The current calculations don’t count non-cash government aid, such as Medicaid or food stamps, as income. And they aren’t adjusted for differences in standards of living in different parts of the country. Given these flaws, some groups around the country have tried to develop an alternative measure, often referred to as the livable wage, that would really get at who has an adequate income and who doesn’t. In the meantime, the poverty data below is probably still the best place to start when describing need in your community. Definitions and source links
Population in poverty (2000)			Orleans Parish	Louisiana	United States
Total population for whom poverty status is determined			468,453	4,334,094	273,882,232
	People living in poverty		27.9%	19.6%	12.4%
	People living at or above poverty		72.1%	80.4%	87.6%
Poverty status by age (2000)			Orleans Parish	Louisiana	United States
Total population 0-5 for whom poverty status is determined			39,308	375,393	22,636,650
	Children 0-5 living in poverty		43.0%	29.0%	18.1%
	Children 0-5 living at or above poverty		57.0%	71.0%	81.9%
Total population 6-11 for whom poverty status is determined			44,048	403,616	24,587,815
	Children 6-11 living in poverty		42.4%	26.8%	16.9%
	Children 6-11 living at or above poverty		57.6%	73.2%	83.1%
Total population 12-17 for whom poverty status is determined			44,210	421,352	23,700,796
	Children 12-17 living in poverty		36.5%	24.4%	14.8%
	Children 12-17 living at or above poverty		63.5%	75.6%	85.2%
Total population 18-64 for whom poverty status is determined			286,783	2,644,159	169,610,423
	Adults 18-64 living in poverty		24.0%	17.0%	11.1%
	Adults 18-64 living at or above poverty		76.0%	83.0%	88.9%
Total population 65 and older for whom poverty status is determined			54,104	489,574	33,346,548
	Adults 65 and older living in poverty (%)		19.3%	16.7%	9.9%
	Adults 65 and older living at or above poverty (%)		80.7%	83.3%	90.1%
Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org> Families in poverty The data below will give you a sense of how families (defined by the Census Bureau as "people who are related by birth, marriage or adoption") are faring in terms of poverty. If you are working in an area where there are lots of people living together who are not related (as the Census sees it), then use this information with caution as it may under-represent the magnitude of the issue. Definitions and source links
Families in poverty (2000)			Orleans Parish	Louisiana	United States
Total families below poverty level			26,988	183,448	6,620,945
	Female householder (no husband present) with own children under 18		65.2%	52.2%	44.4%
	Male householder (no wife present) with own children under 18		6.2%	5.9%	6.8%
	Married-couple family with children under 18		11.9%	19.9%	26.7%
	Families with no children under 18		16.7%	22.0%	22.1%
Source Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000 Sample Characteristics (SF3). From a compilation by the GNO Community Data Center. <http://www.gnocdc.org>

Download this pre-Katrina data for all 10 parishes.

Data Tables:  People & Household Characteristics, Housing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Schools & Testing, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Health, Public Safety, Voting, Parish Characteristics

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