Self-Sufficiency
Poverty in Morris County
Due to the high cost of living in Morris County, the national poverty guideline is an insufficient measure of need in Morris County. While only 1.7% of families in the county fall below the national poverty line, there are many more who struggle to make ends meet despite the fact that their income exceeds the national poverty guideline.
Poverty in Morris County
- Median household income is $84,010 (2005)
- Mean household income is $112,939 (2005)
- 1.7% of families live below the poverty line (2005)
- 2.9% of individuals live below the poverty line (2005)
- Median rent is $1,107 (2005)
- At this rate, to spend 1/3 of income on rent, a person must earn $39,852 a year, average an hourly wage of $19 an hour.
- A full time job at minimum wage in NJ pays $7.15 an hour, totaling only $14,872 a year (before taxes!)
- Over 1/3 of Morris County renters pay 35% or more of their income in rent (2005)
- Median value of owned housing in Morris County is $463,500 (2005)
- Over 75% of owned housing in Morris County is valued between $300,000 and $999,000.
| Compare this to National Poverty Guidelines 2006 |
Persons in
Family Unit |
Poverty
Guideline/
Annual Income
|
Hourly Wage * |
Monthly
Income at
Hourly Wage** |
Affordable Rent
at Income*** |
| 1 |
$9,800 |
$4.71 |
$810.12 |
$272.22 |
| 2 |
$13,200 |
$6.34 |
$1090.48 |
$366.66 |
| 3 |
$16,600 |
$7.98 |
$1372.56 |
$461.11 |
| 4 |
$20,000 |
$9.62 |
$1654.64 |
$555.55 |
| 5 |
$23,400 |
$11.25 |
$1935 |
$650 |
| 6 |
$26,800 |
$12.88 |
$2215.36 |
$744 |
| 7 |
$30,200 |
$14.52 |
$2497.44 |
$838.88 |
| 8 |
$33,600 |
$16.15 |
$2777.80 |
$933.33 |
*assumes 2080 hours of work a year (40 hours a week, 52 weeks)
** hourly wage multiplied by 4.3 weeks a month
*** rent is assumed to be 1/3 of monthly income
| Poverty’s Effect on Children in Morris County and New Jersey |
| Population
|
Morris
County
2000 |
Morris
County
2005 |
NJ
2000 |
NJ
2005 |
| Under 5 |
32,906(7%) |
31,613(6%) |
563,785(6.7%) |
581,114(6.8%) |
| Aged 5-9 |
34,234(7.3%) |
35,932(7%) |
604,529(7.2%) |
581,460(6.8%) |
| Aged 10-14 |
32,425(6.9%) |
33,565(7%) |
590,577(7%) |
621,041(7.2%) |
| Aged 15-19 |
26,598(6%) |
31,829(6%) |
525,216(6.2%) |
575,896(6.7%) |
| Under 18 |
116,837(24%) |
121,845(25%) |
2,087,558(24%) |
2,154,683(25%) |
TOTAL
INDIVIDUAL
|
470,212 |
481,139 |
8,414,350 |
8,521,427 |
TOTAL
FAMILIES |
125,726 |
125,090 |
2,167,577 |
2,172,279 |
All families
below poverty
line |
3,033(2.4%) |
2,126(1.7%) |
135,549(6.3%) |
147,714(6.8%) |
Families
below poverty
line with
children
under 18 |
2,085(3.3%)
1.6% of all
families in
Morris County are below
poverty line
with children
under
18
68% of families
in Morris
County are
below poverty
line and have
children under
the age of 18 |
1,696(2.7%)
1.3% of all
families in
Morris County
are below
poverty line
with children
under 18
79% of families
in Morris
County below
poverty line
have children
under the age
of 18
|
103,899(9.2%)
4.7% of all
families in NJ
are below
poverty line
with children
under 18
76% of families
in NJ below
poverty line
have children
under the age
of 18 |
103,573(9.9%)
4.7% of all
families in NJ
are below
poverty line
with children
under 18
70% of families
in NJ below
poverty line
have children
under the age
of 18 |
Families
below poverty
line with
children
under 5 |
903(3.6%) |
4.2% |
48,730(10.9%) |
10.2% |
Families
with female
head of
household
below poverty
level |
1,282(10%)
1% of families
in Morris
County have
females heads
of household
and are below
the poverty
level
42% of
families below
poverty line in
Morris County
have female
heads of household and
are below the
poverty level |
649(4.9%)
.5% of families
in Morris
County have
female heads
of household
and are below
the poverty
level.
7.6% of families
in Morris
County have
female heads
of household
30% of families
below poverty
line in Morris
County have
female heads
of household.
13,248 families
with female
heads of
household in
Morris County |
72,261(3.3%)
3% of families in
NJ have female
heads of
household and
are below the
poverty level.
53% of families
below the
poverty level
are female
heads of
household |
82,638(20.9%)
4% of families in
NJ have female
heads of the
household and
are below the
poverty level
55% of families
below the
poverty in NJ
are female
heads
of household
395,401 families
with female
heads of
household in NJ |
Families
with female
head of
household
below poverty
level with
children
under 18 |
1,071(15.8%)
.8% of families
in Morris County are
Families with
female head of
household
below poverty
level with
children
under 18
35% of families
below poverty
line are
Families with
female head of
household with
children
under 18
83% of families
headed by
females have
children under
18 and are
below poverty
line |
494(8.1%)
.3% of families
in Morris
County are
Families with
female head of
household
below poverty
level with
children
under 18
23% of families
below poverty
line are
Families with
female head of
household with
children
under 18
76% of families
headed by
females have
children under
18 and are
below poverty
line |
62,646
2.8% of families
in NJ are
families with
female head of
household
below poverty
level with
children
under 18
42% of families
below poverty
line in NJ are
families with
female head of
household with
children
under 18
86% of families
headed by
females and are
below poverty
line have
children
under 18 |
61,473(28.8%)
2.8% of families
in NJ are
families with
female head of
household
below poverty
level with
children
under 18
41.6% of families
below poverty
line in NJ are
families with
female head of
household with
children
under 18
74% of families
headed by
females and are
below poverty
line have
children
under 18 |
Families
with female
head of
household
below poverty
level with
children
under 5 |
391(30%) |
31.9% |
27,787(38%) |
38.9% |
All individuals
below poverty
line |
17,872(3.9%) |
13,471(2.9%) |
699,668(8%) |
741,364(8.7%) |
Individuals
below poverty
line under
age 18 |
4,464(3%)
25% of
individuals
below poverty
line are
under 18 |
3,411(2.8%)
25% of
individuals
below poverty
line are
under 18 |
227,754(10%)
32% of
individuals
below poverty
line are
under 18 |
254,252(11.8%)
34% of
individuals
below poverty
line are
under 18 |
Why You Should Care
- 1/4 of the population in Morris County is under 18
- 63,242 households in Morris County have children under 18 – 37% of households
- Nearly 2 kids in each household with children in Morris County
- Average cost of day care in Morris County $9,000 a year- this is over half the cost of 4 year public college tuition in NJ
- 4 year public college tuition in NJ $16,000
| The Cost of Daycare for Working Families |
| Families Living at the Poverty Line |
 |
Families Earning Minimum Wage |
|
Number of
Children
|
1 Adult
|
2 Adults |
Number of
Children |
1 Adult |
2 Adults |
| 1 |
$9,000 for
childcare
is 32% of
income |
$9,000* for
childcare
is 54% of
income |
1 |
$9,000* for
childcare
is 60% of
income |
$9,000* for
childcare
is 30% of
income |
| 2 |
$18,000 for
childcare is
108% of
income |
$18,000 for
childcare is
90% of
income |
2 |
$18,000 for
childcare is
121% of
income |
$18,000 for
childcare is
60% of
income |
| 3 |
$27,000 for
childcare is
135% of
income |
$27,000 for
childcare is
115% of
income |
3 |
$27,000 for
childcare is
181% of
income |
$27,000 for
childcare is
102% of
income |
|
