CHILD POVERTY ON THE DECLINE, BUT ELDERLY POVERTY INCREASING IN PENNSYLVANIA

A new federal report says child poverty in Pennsylvania is declining, but elderly poverty is rising. The U.S. Census Bureau’s five-year estimates show the child poverty rate dropped from 21 to 17 percent for the years 2017 through 2021. However, the rate for people who are age 65 and over saw a slight increase to just over nine and a half percent. That’s still lower than the national average, though.  Most of the decreases in child poverty rates in Pennsylvania were in the western and southern regions.