Quick Stats: Income and Poverty Among the Elderly

The median income of older persons in 2001 was $19,688 for males and $11,313 for females -- $14,152 for all older people. Real median income of older people (after adjusting for inflation) fell by -2.6% from 2000 to 2001. For all older persons reporting income in 2001 (32.9 million), 31.8% reported less than $10,000.

Only 31.2% reported $25,000 or more. Households containing families headed by persons 65+ reported a median income in 2001 of $33,938 ($34,661 for Whites, $26,610 for African-Americans, and $24,287 for Hispanics). About one of every nine (10.7%) family households with an elderly householder had incomes less than $15,000 and 48.1% had incomes of $35,000 or more. Based on data from the Census Bureau and the Social Security Administration).