Agenda - Council - 10/25/1983 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I ! I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY POLICY What are the characteristics of the poor and the unemployed in the Region, and where'do they live? The ultimate purpose of all Metropolitan Council policies, including those devised to address problems of the poor, is to maintain or improve the quality of life in the Region. However, the poor cannot afford to partake of many aspects of our "high quality of life." The Council's direct role in dealing with problems of the poor has been through_ its housing assistance and aging programs. Less directly, it has addressed these concerns in its housing allocation plan, housing affordability studies, and transit studies relating to the needs of the poor, minorities, and the handicapped. If the problems are going to be addressed from the economic side, then the Council needs to look more closely at the characteristics of the poor and unemployed and where they are located. According to the 1980 census there are nearly 131,000 persons in the Region living below the poverty level, 6.8 percent of the population. Other census data shows two things: First, female-headed families make up a disproportion- ate share of poor families. Second, minorities are also below the poverty level at a far higher rate than whites. Fifty-five percent of families with incomes below the poverty level are female headed with no husband present, yet they account for only 12.5 percent of families. Almost half of such families with children under six live below poverty. The figures for racial or ethnic minorities are even worse. Only 5.7 percent of whites lived in households that had incomes below the poverty level (1979 census figures). In sharp contrast, 26.4 percent of blacks, nearly 30 percent of Indians, 23.9 percent of Asians and 17.4 percent of Hispanics were living below the poverty level. These groups also have higher proportions of female- headed households. Age might also be a factor; minorities are, on the aver- age, much younger and, consequently, at an earlier, lower-paid level in their careers. However, they also have fewer elderly, who are also relatively poorer. A higher proportion of elderly have incomes below the poverty level-- 10.1 percent compared to 6.6 percent under age 55. The percentages are lower for the 55-to-59 year olds (four percent) and 60-to-64 year olds (5.7 percent). Based on the persons living below the poverty level, poverty is clearly concentrated in the central cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul). They have 58 percent of the Region's 131,000 people living below the poverty level. All but four of 87 census tracts with more than 15 percent of persons living below the poverty level were in Minneapolis and St. Paul, with most of the very lowest ones in Minneapolis. The exceptions were: Fort Snelling (only 127 people), Falcon Heights (student housing) and two rural communities--New Trier (Dakota County) and Hancock Twp. (Carver County). In Minneapolis all tracts with over 25 percent below poverty are located in a ring surrounding the downtown. St. Paul has far fewer census tracts where over 25 percent of the population is below the poverty level. Despite the concentrations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, there are still large numbers of rural and suburban persons living in poverty, about 55,000 (42 percent). 15