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Where Freddie goes every morning before his shift at the paint shop.

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Where Freddie lives.

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In 2020, 37 million people lived in Poverty USA. That means the poverty rate for 2020 was 11.4%. However, due in part to the advocacy of Catholics around the country, in 2020 the supplemental poverty measure - which takes into account programs designed to keep people out of poverty - dropped to 9.1, the lowest rate since 2009. Thanks to stimulus payments, enacted as part of economic relief legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, 11.7 million individuals were lifted out of poverty. Use our interactive map to take a closer look at poverty statistics in the United States.

Who lives in Poverty USA?

All those who make less than the Federal government's official poverty threshold... which for a family of four is about $25,700. People working at minimum wage, even holding down multiple jobs. Seniors living on fixed incomes. Wage earners suddenly out of work. Millions of families everywhere from our cities to rural communities.

Poverty does not strike all demographics equally. For example, in 2018, 10.6% of men, and 12.9% of women lived in Poverty USA. Along the same lines, the poverty rate for married couples in 2018 was only 4.7% - but the poverty rate for single-parent families with no wife present was 12.7%, and for single-parent families with no husband present was 24.9%.

In 2018, the poverty rate for people living with a disability was 25.7%. That's nearly 4 million people living with a disability-in poverty.

Poverty by Age

Poverty by Ethnicity

According to 2018 US Census Data, the highest poverty rate by race is found among Native Americans (25.4%), with Blacks (20.8%) having the second highest poverty rate, and Hispanics (of any race) having the third highest poverty rate (17.6%). Whites had a poverty rate of 10.1%, while Asians had a poverty rate at 10.1%.

The Economics of Poverty

Poverty thresholds are determined by the US government and vary according to the size of a family, and the ages of its members. In 2018, the poverty threshold-also known as the poverty line-for an individual was $12,784. For two people, the weighted average threshold was $16,247.

For more details about poverty thresholds, visit the US Census Bureau. Poverty thresholds are intended for use as a statistical yardstick, not a complete description of what people and/or families actually need to live.

What's worse, 5.3% of the population-or 17.3 million people-live in deep poverty, with incomes below 50% of their poverty thresholds.

And 29.9% of the population-or 93.6 million-live close to poverty, with incomes less than two times that of their poverty thresholds. To learn more about poverty thresholds and what it is like to live at the poverty line, take a look at the statistics.

Sources: How the US Census Measures Poverty, US Census Bureau; Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2019, US Census Bureau (p. 18-19).

Employment

Following 3 consecutive years of annual increases, the 2018 median household income of $63,179 was not significantly different than the 2017 median. However, the real median income for family households increased by 1.2% and for nonfamily households by 2.4%. In 2018, the median income for family households was $80,663, while the median income for nonfamily households was $38,122.

Regarding the people who earned income in 2018, an estimated 76.8% of men and 63.9% of women worked full time, year-round. This combines for a 2% increase from the previous year and continues a shift from part time to full time work status. However, in 2018, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round were only 81.6% of that for men working full time, year-round.

Source: US Census Bureau; Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019

Food Insecurity

The USDA estimated that 11.1% of US households were food insecure in 2018. This means that approximately 14.3 million households had difficulty providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. Rates of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national average for households with incomes near or below the Federal poverty line.

There are programs that help.

56% of food-insecure households in the USDA survey reported that in the previous month, they had participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs. One of these programs is known as SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Program. Learn more about policies that help.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture, Food Security Status of US Households in 2018

In addition, every day, thousands of people-working with their neighbors and community-are finding ways out of Poverty USA by strengthening families, creating jobs, and improving neighborhoods. For more than five decades, CCHD has supported nearly 12,000 community-based projects led by low-income people through our grant program. Read some of their stories.

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In 2020, 37 million people lived in Poverty USA. That means the poverty rate for 2020 was 11.4%.

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What has been hitting Freddie's finances so hard.

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U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2019: Higher Spending, Worse Outcomes?

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Americans are living shorter, unhealthier lives. Yet, the United States outspends other wealthy nations when it comes to health care, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. This analysis compares the U.S. to 10 other high-income nations on spending, outcomes, risk factors, and quality.

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The insane amount of bills Freddie has.

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All Freddie's money goes to his bills, so he is in debt.

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Freddie is divorced and has to pay alimony.

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Freddie works at the place where Leroy is staying after he is not himself anymore after he got back from war. He visits Leroy after he attempts to kill himself on the night Freddie was working. Pauline works in the hospital where Leroy is. All the characters are connected through Leroy.

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Freddie helps whoever he can help, even with the weight of the world on his back. He simply walks through life in a daze, barely sleeping at times, barely eating, but he continues to walk.

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Freddie does not believe in giving up, he continues to work hard at his jobs and tries to manage somehow. He believes in hard work, and never quitting.

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The major theme behind Freddie's character is the healthcare system in America. The medical bills are weighing him down, and so is the alimony he has to pay his ex-wife.

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Freddie has some serious issues with paying the (hospital) bills and pay child support to his ex-wife. It doesn’t matter how hard he works it just isn’t enough. He meets with a friend and agrees with his friend to take his marijuana plants into his basement because he gets a lot of money for it which he can use. After he did this illegal thing he feels guilty and uncomfortable.

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The main emotions Freddie is feeling that come forward in the book is Freddie feeling; sad, lonely, and tired. He hates that he can’t see his daughters and feels lonely and sad when he comes home into an empty house. He gets flashbacks from his whole family living in that same house while he lives there alone. Because of his two jobs, he doesn’t get much sleep and is tired a lot.

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Freddie lives in a town in Washington and doesn’t leave until he has to get his daughters from his ex-wife’s aunt. He drove to them in his old car and brought them to his home. Of course, there were some difficulties on the way, but nothing that can’t be fixed. When they come back Freddie sold the house he lived in and moved to an apartment with his two daughters nearby the school.

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Freddie McCall, a night shift worker at the care home where Leroy Kervin tried to take him own life. Freddie also works at a local paint shop. He has many bills piled up and is about to go bankrupt, but he doesn't want to give up because of his daughters, who live in Las Vegas with his ex-wife.