Have you ever wondered about your Missouri neighbors in poverty? Spend a day in the life of a hard-working Missouri family who struggle to make ends meet. Along the way, you’ll encounter how the five key elements of poverty can stand in the way of true self sufficiency. Poverty is not an emotion or state-of-mind. Poverty is an everyday reality. How will you make a difference in your Missouri neighbors’ lives?
Meet an Average Missouri Family
Rob and Stacy both work.
Carson is in the 4th grade at the local public school.
Amy is 3 years old and enrolled in pre-school.
Rob works full time for 40 hours a week.
Stacy works part time for 30 hours a week.
Both adults only earn a minimum wage.
$9.45 per hour
That’s $34,398 gross income per year.
Which is more than the federal poverty line for a family of four: $26,000.
Base on average costs, let’s see how our working family does.
Average fair market rent for a 2-bedroom unit in Missouri is $832.
Annual housing cost for our family is $9,984.
The low-cost food plan for a family of our in Missouri is around $849.80 per month.
Annual food costs add up to $10,197.60.
Amy’s preschool average around $15 a day enabling both Stacy and Rob to work.
Annual child care cost totals $7,014.
Rob has employer-sponsored family health care. The monthly premiums are $501.25 per month.
Annual total of $6,015.
Energy costs for families earning under $30,000 per year average 26%. Our family’s energy burden per year is 22%.
Annual energy costs are $2,844.
Having accounted for housing, food, energy, childcare, and healthcare, our Missouri family, who is above the poverty line, must pay $1,656.60 more than they earn each year to meet basic needs.
This does not include…
transportation to work, school supplies, clothing, hygiene, retirement, emergencies
It’s not just our family.
Missouri has 786,330 individuals who live below the poverty line. And countless other families live in similar situations as Stacy and Rob.
These statistics represent statewide Missouri averages. For information on your specific county, please contact us at info@communityaction.org.