Demographic D.4 Proportion living below the poverty level
Data Source
U.S. Census 2000, Geolytics software. Census variables used: ‘Proportion of total persons below the poverty level last year' (POVRAT0). Summary File 3, Table P87.Map, table, and graphic created by San Francisco Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Section using ArcGIS software.
Map data is presented at the level of the census tract. The map also includes planning neighborhood names, in the vicinity of their corresponding census tracts.
Table data is presented by planning neighborhood. Planning neighborhoods are larger geographic areas then census tracts. SF DPH used ArcGIS software and a 'centroids within' methodology to convert census tracts to geographic mean center points. We then assigned census tracts to planning neighborhoods based on the spatial location of those geographic mean center points and calculated the planning neighborhood totals for the table.
Detailed information regarding census data, geographic units of analysis, their definitions, and their boundaries can be found in the HDMT at the following links:
http://www.thehdmt.org/etc/Geographic_Units_of_Analysis.September_2009.pdf
http://www.thehdmt.org/data_map_methods.php
Explanation and Limitations
The poverty level is determined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Poverty is measured by using 48 thresholds that vary by family size, number of children within the family and age of the householder. The U.S. Census Bureau defines poverty as follows: If the total income of a person"s family is less than the threshold appropriate for that family, then the person is considered poor, together with every member of his or her family. If a person is not living with anyone related by birth, marriage, or adoption, then the person"s own income is compared with his or her poverty threshold.
The equation used to determine percent below the poverty level is: Neighborhood Poverty = Total persons below the poverty level last year / Total population with poverty status determined.
In the San Francisco Poverty Rate by Race graph, the Hispanic / Latino category is not a mutually exclusive race category. In the 2000 U.S. Census, race and Hispanic origin are treated as separate concepts with a separate question asking about Hispanic origin. Hispanics or Latinos are people who classified themselves in at least one of the specific Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino census categories. People of Hispanic origin may also be of any race, and are asked to answer a race question by marking one or more race categories, including: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Some Other Race.