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Well-Being

Well-Being

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Well-Being

The living standards of households are traditionally measured by income. However, income is not the only measure available. Extended measures of well-being help deepen our knowledge about household conditions in ways not captured by money alone.

Featured

Publication

Extended Measures of Well-Being: Living Conditions in the U.S.: 2011

September 01, 2013

The Survey of Income and Program Participation collects information on a variety of measures, creating a broad picture of well-being.
Working Paper

Program Participation and Child Well-Being

November 01, 2013

This study compares the well-being of low-income children who receive assistance from TANF and SNAP to their low-income, non-recipient counterparts.
Working Paper

The Relation of Income to Other Measures of Material Well-being

April 01, 2013

This paper builds on previous research using the SIPP to examine how income earned by household members contribute to the well-being of the household.

Publications

Publication

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2013

September 16, 2014

This report presents data on income and poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2014 and earlier CPS ASEC.
Publication

Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Poverty 2009-2011

January 01, 2014

The report describes patterns of poverty using measures with different time horizons and provides a dynamic view of the duration of poverty spells.
Publication

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S.: 2012

September 01, 2013

This report has three sections—income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. Each section presents estimates by characteristics such as race, and nativity.

Tables

Table

A Child's Day: Historical Tables and Figures

April 2022

Table package showing the distributions of school-aged children across school outcomes using estimates from the SIPP data collected in 1998 - 2020.
Table

A Child's Day: 2014 - Detailed Tables

November 2018

Source: Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 2014 Panel, Wave 1
Table

Extended Measures of Well-being: Living Conditions in the U.S. 1998

January 01, 1998

View and download tables on extended measures of well-being: living conditions in the United States, 1998.

Working Papers

Working Paper

National Experimental Well-Being Statistics Technical Note on Methodological Changes for Version 2

January 29, 2025

The NEWS project aims to produce the best possible estimates of income and poverty given all available survey and administrative data.
Working Paper

Impact of Family Structure, Mobility, & Employment on Children

November 19, 2014

Research has found that children fare best in stable family environments where parents have stable relations, employment, and housing.
Working Paper

Dynamics of Disconnection

April 01, 2013

In the wake of welfare reform and the recent recession, there has been increased interest in identifying and assessing the well-being of disconnected families.

All Subtopics Within 'Income and Poverty'

Income

Census money income is defined as income received on a regular basis before payments for taxes, social security, etc. and does not reflect noncash benefits.
Income Inequality

Income inequality is the extent to which income is distributed unevenly among a population.
Poverty

If a family's total income is less than the official poverty threshold for a family of that size and composition, then they are considered to be in poverty.
Program Income and Public Assistance

Public assistance refers to assistance programs that provide either cash or in-kind benefits to individuals and families from any governmental entity.
Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates (SAIPE)

The Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program provides more current estimates for the administration and allocation of federal programs and funds.
Supplemental Poverty Measure

In 2009, the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) created a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to replace previous experimental poverty measures.
Wealth and Asset Ownership

Household net worth or wealth is an important defining factor of economic well-being - it can become an additional source of income in hard times or retirement.
Well-Being

Factors that contribute to well-being include income, possession of consumer durables, housing and neighborhood conditions, and the meeting of basic needs.