Black Poverty Rate Remains Triple White Rate Through Decade

U.S. Census Bureau data throughout the 1990s showed the Black poverty rate at roughly 30–33%, approximately three times the white poverty rate of 10–12%. In 1993, 33.1% of Black Americans lived below the poverty line — the highest in the decade. Child poverty rates were even higher: 46% of Black children lived in poverty in 1993. These figures informed debates over welfare reform and criminal justice policy.