Washington and Lee University
Listed below are resources which specialize in the provision of data and analysis
relevant to poverty studies.
You can find more wide-ranging data on this Statistical Sources page,
perhaps starting with the Statistical Abstract of the United States.
The Measure of America: American Human Development Report, 2008-2009
Unique indicators of well-being, using economic, educational, and other measures. The data tables from this project are available here online, while the printed volume is in the Leyburn Library collection.
U.S. Census Bureau
Poverty
This section within the Census Bureau's Web site bring together data sources, publications, links to other source, and much more. The Publications area might
be a good place to begin.
The most current estimates of selected income and poverty statistics can be found in the Small Area Income and Poverty
Estimates section.
You can find the most recent data in several subject areas, including poverty and
income, in the American Factfinder and American Community Survey sections of
the site. Another useful area is Dynamics of Economic Well-Being.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The Poverty Guidelines,
Research, and Measurement site contains data on guidelines and other measures, as
well as links to other important research sites. Be sure to look at the "Are You Looking
For.." section at the bottom of the page.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Each year the BLS publishes A Profile of the Working Poor, the most
recent edition of which is available here.
BLS also maintains data on wages, earning,
and benefits, while coordinating other data
with the Census Bureau's "Current Population Survey."
U.S. House Ways and Means Committee
This committee periodically publishes Background Material and Data on Programs
Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, more popularly known
as the Green Book,
a unique collection of information on such program areas as Medicare, social security,
unemployment compensation, child care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and more.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service
The ERS includes the Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare "briefing room" (a very useful collection of links to poverty data on farms, rural areas, and more) and the Food and Nutrition Assistance area (with publications on child nutrition, hunger, WIC, and more).
Another branch of the DOA with relevant information is the
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
U.S. Federal Government Oversight
A few Federal agencies, such as the Congressional Budget Office and the General Accountancy Office, study the performance of government programs and proposals, in the process conducting original research on issues such as poverty.
National Center for Children in Poverty
A research and advocacy center at Columbia University. Their site contains several excellent resources for finding data
and generating tables on one or more states' policies in a range of subject areas, such as food stamps and Head Start.
Look in the navigation bar on the left for the various
Data Wizard possibilities, as well as the browseable "View by State" and "View by Policy" options.
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Annually-updated Kids Count database "profiles the well-being of America’s children on a state-by-state basis and ranks states on 10 key measures of child well-being."
Summer 2009 research in the Shepherd Program is creating this collection of data sources.
World Bank
The World Bank's PovertyNet provides
"in-depth information on poverty measurement, monitoring, analysis, and on poverty reduction strategies."