Thursday Dec. 13, 2012
Despite the best efforts to move onward and upward, poverty is up in Elkhart County and median household income is down, compared to 2007 anyway, before the Great Recession hit.
In short, things are worse off here, in general, than in the rest of Indiana and the rest of the country, on average, according to a new slew of stats released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. That may not be a huge surprise given the rocky road Elkhart County has been on the past few years, since the Great Recession took hold around 2008, but the numbers put it all in black and white, in one fell swoop.
Here are some highlights (“lowlights”?):
- The poverty rate in Elkhart County in 2011 reached 18.3 percent, representing 35,641 people. That’s up from 11.1 percent in 2007, or 21,669 people. Across Indiana, the overall poverty rate for 2011 was 15.8 percent while it was 15.9 percent across the United States.
- Among school-aged children in Elkhart County, those 5 to 17, the poverty rate was 25.9 percent, representing 10,164 kids. That’s up from 14.1 percent, or 5,368 kids, in 2007. Across Indiana, the poverty rate in the age group in 2011 was 20.6 percent in 2011 while it totaled 20.8 percent in the nation overall.
- Kids in the Elkhart school district fared worst among the seven school districts in Elkhart County. There, 33.3 percent of kids aged 5 to 17 were in poverty in 2011, representing 4,841 teens, youngsters and tykes. That compares to 17.5 percent poverty in 2007, representing 2,687 kids.
- The median household income in Elkhart County totaled $44,354 in 2011, down $5,041 from $49,395 in 2007. The numbers fell across Indiana and the nation as well, but not by as much — the median household income statewide was $46,410 in 2011, down from $47,422, while the national figure was $50,502, down from $50,740.
Here’s a look at 2011 numbers for poverty among kids, by school district in Elkhart County:
| School district | Pop., age 5-17, 2011 | Age 5-17 in poverty, 2011 | % 5-17 in poverty, 2011 |
| Baugo | 1,987 | 354 | 17.8% |
| Concord | 5,017 | 1,302 | 26.0% |
| Elkhart | 14,547 | 4,841 | 33.3% |
| Fairfield | 2,971 | 385 | 13.0% |
| Goshen | 6,915 | 1,818 | 26.3% |
| Middlebury | 5,271 | 785 | 14.9% |
| Wa-Nee | 4,498 | 832 | 18.5% |
| Total | 41,206 | 10,317 | 25.0% |
Tim Vandenack is a reporter at the Elkhart Truth newspaper in Elkhart, Ind., www.etruth.com. He can be reached at tvandenack@etruth.com or 574-296-5884. Follow him at @timvandenack.
