The share of students who are economically disadvantaged. Economic disadvantage is based on a student's participation in social safety net programs.
This measure not only shows the proportion of low-income students and families in an area, it is also an indication of the potential challenges facing schools as they work to educate children who have fewer resources.
In 2022, 43% of students in the region were economically disadvantaged, representing almost 64,900 children. This was slightly below the statewide (excluding NYC) rate of 42%. Sullivan County, at 58%, had the highest rate in the region, followed by Columbia at 49% and Ulster at 48%. The lowest rate was in Putnam, at 28%. Since 2013, the share of students in the region who were economically disadvantaged increased 6 percentage points, slightly above the state outside NYC. While all counties had increases during this period, the largest occurred in Putnam, up 13 points.
Among individual school districts in the region, rates were highest in Poughkeepsie (75%), Middletown (73%), and Hudson City (69%). The Garrison Union Free School District had one of the lowest rates, at 12%.
Students are considered economically disadvantaged if they participate in, or whose family participates in, economic assistance programs, such as the free or reduced-price lunch programs, Social Security Insurance (SSI), Food Stamps, Foster Care, Refugee Assistance (cash or medical assistance), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), Safety Net Assistance (SNA), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), or Family Assistance: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). If one student in a family is identified as low income, all students from that household (economic unit) may be identified as low income. Comparable national data was not available. Data is not available prior to 2013. Data for this indicator are expected to be released in the second quarter.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 37% | 39% | 41% | 40% | 43% | 44% | 44% | 44% | 42% | 43% | |||||||||
| Columbia | 41% | 47% | 49% | 51% | 51% | 52% | 52% | 48% | 47% | 49% | |||||||||
| Dutchess | 33% | 34% | 36% | 36% | 38% | 39% | 38% | 40% | 36% | 38% | |||||||||
| Greene | 42% | 46% | 47% | 48% | 47% | 49% | 49% | 48% | 45% | 47% | |||||||||
| Orange | 40% | 42% | 43% | 41% | 45% | 47% | 47% | 47% | 44% | 45% | |||||||||
| Putnam | 16% | 17% | 20% | 22% | 24% | 27% | 28% | 28% | 28% | 28% | |||||||||
| Sullivan | 53% | 59% | 53% | 55% | 61% | 62% | 63% | 60% | 57% | 58% | |||||||||
| Ulster | 40% | 44% | 46% | 47% | 47% | 49% | 49% | 49% | 45% | 48% | |||||||||
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 38% | 40% | 42% | 43% | 44% | 46% | 45% | 45% | 41% | 42% | |||||||||
| Columbia School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dutchess School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Greene School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Orange School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Putnam School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sullivan School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ulster School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 60,758 | 63,287 | 64,831 | 63,093 | 66,630 | 68,277 | 67,709 | 67,097 | 62,368 | 64,873 | |||||||||
| Columbia | 3,079 | 3,402 | 3,513 | 3,564 | 3,514 | 3,539 | 3,462 | 3,096 | 2,914 | 3,038 | |||||||||
| Dutchess | 13,822 | 13,914 | 14,684 | 14,361 | 15,025 | 15,190 | 14,678 | 15,068 | 13,441 | 14,304 | |||||||||
| Greene | 2,647 | 2,799 | 2,768 | 2,849 | 2,704 | 2,799 | 2,734 | 2,652 | 2,438 | 2,482 | |||||||||
| Orange | 24,257 | 24,944 | 25,513 | 23,521 | 25,853 | 26,616 | 26,556 | 26,544 | 24,942 | 26,022 | |||||||||
| Putnam | 2,296 | 2,518 | 2,952 | 3,154 | 3,428 | 3,726 | 3,848 | 3,777 | 3,702 | 3,738 | |||||||||
| Sullivan | 5,119 | 5,541 | 4,928 | 5,028 | 5,488 | 5,612 | 5,698 | 5,399 | 5,292 | 5,298 | |||||||||
| Ulster | 9,538 | 10,169 | 10,473 | 10,616 | 10,618 | 10,795 | 10,733 | 10,561 | 9,639 | 9,991 | |||||||||
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 628,838 | 651,321 | 683,328 | 696,201 | 705,986 | 715,396 | 707,526 | 699,232 | 639,157 | 654,780 | |||||||||
| Columbia School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dutchess School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Greene School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Orange School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Putnam School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sullivan School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ulster School Districts | |||||||||||||||||||
| INDICATORS | TREND | STATE |
|---|---|
| Median Household Income | Maintaining |
| Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity | Not Applicable |
| People Living in Poverty | Increasing |
| People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity | Not Applicable |
| Seniors Living in Poverty | Maintaining |
| Veterans Living in Poverty | Decreasing |
| Children Receiving Subsidized Child Care | Decreasing |
| Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch | Increasing |
| Earned Income Tax Credit Participation | Decreasing |
| Living Wage Rate by Household Type | Not Applicable |
| Income in Relation to Poverty Level | Not Applicable |
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