Basic Facts About Low-income Children: Children Aged 6 through 11 Years, 2011

Children represent 24 percent of the population, but they comprise 34 percent of all people in poverty. 1 Among all children, 45 percent live in low-income families and approximately one in every five (22 percent) live in poor families. Among children 6 through 11 years old in middle childhood, 45 percent live in low-income families and 22 percent live in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. There are a range of factors associated with children’s experiences of economic insecurity, including race/ethnicity and parents’ education and employment. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socioeconomic, and employment characteristics of children in middle childhood and their parents. It highlights the important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children in this age group from their less disadvantaged counterparts