from staff
Families and households in the five-county Jacksonville metropolitan area experienced a higher level of poverty in 2009 over 2008.
Almost half of single-mother households with children only under the age of 5 experienced income below the poverty level during the year.
The national recession began in December 2007 and officially ended in June 2009, although the economy has not rebounded quickly.
The U.S. Census Bureau calculated the percentage of families and people whose income during the 12-month period was below the poverty level.
The bureau reported that, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation, the average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2009 was $21,954.
Last year, 4.1 percent of married-couple families reported income below the poverty level, up from 3.2 percent in 2008.
Families headed by women with no husband present experienced the highest level of income below the poverty level.
In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau also found that 47,482 households, or more than 9 percent of all households, received food stamps, now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, during the 12 months.
That was up from almost 7 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 2007.
This is part of a series of Jacksonville facts from the U.S. Census Bureau published by the Daily Record
| Incomes below the poverty level | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| All families | 7.7% | 7.3% | 10.6% |
| Families with related children under age 18 | 12.9% | 11.5% | 16.8% |
| Families with related children under age 5 only | 16.8% | 11.9% | 18.3% |
| Married couple families | 2.9% | 3.2% | 4.1% |
| Families with female householder, no husband present | 23.8% | 21.1% | 28.7% |
| Female householder with related children under age 18 | 31.8% | 27.4% | 35.9% |
| Female householder with related children under age 5 only | 43.5% | 34% | 49.6% |
| Households receiving assistance | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| With food stamps/SNAP* benefits past 12 months | 26,618 | 33,716 | 47,482 |
| % of households receiving assistance | 5.3% | 6.7% | 9.4% |
* Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program