Colorado Poverty Rates Up According To Latest Census Data

The AP reports that new census data indicates the poverty rate--defined by the "a family of four earning less than $22,050 a year... or an individual... [making less than] $10,830"--in Colorado has risen 2.2 percent since the 2000 census.

The percentage of children under the poverty line has grown even more drastically:

The number of Colorado children living in poverty rose from 11.3 percent in 2000 to 15.1 percent in 2008, according to the census data.

A Denver Post analysis of the data shows that Pueblo had the highest percentage of children under the poverty line at 30.6%. The Post also broke down poverty rates by race:

In 2000, 6.5 percent of white residents were living in poverty compared to 18.9 percent of Latinos and 16.3 percent of black residents. Last year, white poverty rose to 7.5 percent compared with 23.4 percent for Latinos and 22.2 percent for black residents.

The news wasn't all negative, however. Bloomberg reports that Colorado has among the lowest percentage of population eligible for food stamps.