Census Bureau Says Many Lufkin Kids are Living in Poverty

New Census Bureau data says nearly 1 in 3 kids in Lufkin are living in poverty.

That's well higher than the average in the state of Texas, according to the new data.

This data applies to the year 2011, and it was compiled and released by the US Census Bureau in December 2012.

The income and poverty estimates were released for all counties and school districts in the US, and the numbers show a significant increase of the school-aged poverty rate in 26 percent of all the counties across the country. The effects of the recession that started in 2008 may still be lingering in these numbers.

The number of kids between the ages of five and 17 years old living in impoverished families has has spiked in the time period between 2007 and 2011, and during the same time frame, the yearly percentages of poverty-stricken kids in the Lufkin school district have ranged from as low as 25.3 percent in 2009, to 30.2 percent in 2008.

Overall, 28.6 percent of children in Lufkin are considered to be living in poverty. In Texas, there are 18.5 percent of kids living in poverty.

Expect more programs to be developed to help kids in this situation, and existing programs will probably advertised and promoted on a more regular basis.

The US Dept. of Health and Human Services says the poverty level in the US is considered to be:

For 1 person - yearly income of $11,170
For a household of 2 - yearly income of $15,130
For a household of 3 - yearly income of $19,090
For a household of 4 - yearly income of $23,050
For a household of 5 - yearly income of $27,010
For a household of 6 - yearly income of $30,970
For a household of 7 - yearly income of $34,930

Each additional person adds $3960.