Child poverty up in county

More children in El Paso County are living in poverty. The median household income is up nearly $2,000. And nearly 800,000 residents statewide lack health insurance.

Those are among the findings the U.S. Census Bureau released Tuesday as part of an annual examination of poverty, income and health insurance throughout the country.

Here's a closer look at each issue:

• The number of El Paso County children living in poverty jumped more than 3,000, hitting an estimated 19,533 in 2007. The poverty rate for children went from 11.1 percent in 2006 to 12.9 percent last year. The rate for people of all ages was unchanged, about 10 percent. Poverty-level income for a family of four last year was $20,650.

The reality in Colorado is likely worse than the numbers indicate because they don't account for further slipping in the economy during 2008, said Kathy White of the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, a Denver-based think tank.

"In the next year I think we're going to see low- and moderate-income families facing a great deal more hardship," White said. "I think we can expect those numbers of poverty to increase in 2008."

• Median household income in El Paso County went from $53,240 to $55,210. Price inflation during the same period was about 2 percent, so the increase means a household at the median income saw its buying power increase by about $900.

Elsewhere in Colorado, rapid rises in median income resulted in a roughly $7,500 increase in buying power for Mesa County households. Income fell in Larimer County, and households making the median saw their buying power shrink by an estimated $2,774.
• An estimated 16.7 percent of Colorado residents lacked health insurance at some point during the year, the bureau reported, citing a three-year average from 2005 to 2007. That's higher than some neighboring states, such as Wyoming (14.3 percent), but it's well below others, such as New Mexico (21.9 percent). The national average is 15.4 percent.

The Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, an advocacy group for expanded health coverage, bemoaned the news.

"This crisis affects not just the uninsured but all of us," said director Denise de Percin in a prepared statement. "In addition to jeopardizing the health of our neighbors, there are grave economic consequences for Colorado when almost one in five people is uninsured."

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Contact the writer: 636-0187 or perry.swanson@gazette.com