Rural Snapshot: Rural Pennsylvania’s Working Poor

For this analysis, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, using a modified definition from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, defined the rural working poor as: non-institutionalized individuals age 18 years old and older who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force during the preceding 12 months and whose household income was below the poverty level.

In 2016, the Census Bureau considered a two-person household with an income below $15,569 to be in poverty.
The data sources for this Snapshot are the 2012 and 2016 American Community Survey, 1-year average, Public Use Microdata Sample, U.S. Census Bureau.

The rural working poor make up about 5 percent of the total rural Pennsylvania workforce.

Rural Working Poor by Gender, 2016

Rural Working Poor by Race, 2016

Rural Working Poor by Age Cohort, 2016

Top Three Industries Employing the Rural Working Poor, 2016

22 % Restaurant, Hotel, and Entertainment

16% Retail Trade

11% Health Care

Number of Rural Working Poor, 2012 to 2016

Rural Working Poor by Number of Hours Worked per Week, 2016

  • 13 percent of rural working poor households do not have a vehicle.
  • 14 percent of rural working poor households do not have home internet access.
  • 16 percent of rural working poor live alone.
  • 47 percent of working poor households have children under 18 years old.

Highest Level of Educational Attainment Among the Rural Working Poor, 2016

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