Bloomington poverty rate tops 41 percent

from The Star Press

A new U.S. Census Bureau report which found 41 percent of Bloomington residents living in poverty is somewhat misleading because of the city's large population of college students, officials say.

The report, which includes Indiana University students in its figures, found that Bloomington's poverty rate grew from 34.7 percent in 2006 to 41.6 percent 2007 — a nearly 7 percent rise.

But the numbers are skewed because many IU students either have no incomes or paltry paychecks from part-time jobs, said Barry Lessow, executive director of United Way of Monroe County.

"These numbers reflect the reality that poverty is certainly an issue in our community," he said. "But as we look at the poverty numbers, we're also cognizant that they are impacted by the large number of IU students included in the census figures."

In 2007, the federal government considered a single person making less than $10,210 a year — or a family of four making less than $20,650 — to be in poverty.

Therefore, any student making less than $10,210 a year would be considered living in poverty.

Mayor Mark Kruzan said that regardless of the fact that IU's student population contributes to the high poverty number assigned to Bloomington, poverty is a reality for too many people in the city of about 70,000 residents.

"In addition to job loss and export, federal and state assistance programs have continually been cut as need for those services increases," he said in an e-mail statement.

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