FAYETTEVILLE — The poverty rate in Washington County drops by 2.8 percent when University of Arkansas students independently living off-campus are removed from the poverty calculation, according to a U.S. Census report released Monday.
By The Numbers
Undergraduate Poverty
Poverty rates drop in all 50 states when college students living independently are excluded from the usual calculation. The rates declined 0.3 percent in Alaska to 1.8 percent in North Dakota. The decline in Arkansas was 0.6 percent. The state’s population is 2.8 million, 19 percent of whom are considered living in poverty. That drops to 18.4 percent if the number of college students is excluded.
Source: U.S. Census
The decrease exceeds the national and state averages when looking at the effect of off-campus college students on poverty rates in cities and counties where colleges and universities are located. The report covers the three-year American Community Survey for 2009 to 2011.
Washington County is ranked 50th among 105 counties with populations of 100,000 or more with significant changes in the poverty rates after excluding off-campus college students. The report defines off-campus students as those living independent of family or other relatives.
Yolanda Fields, city director of community services, said the difference could eventually affect how much federal money comes into Washington County.
“The poverty rate does play a role but it’s hard to tell how much,” she said. Federal agencies give some weight to a city or county poverty rate but other factors are considered to determine spending amounts for projects.
“There is a lot of need and the students are part of that,” Fields said. She said there are documented pockets of poverty in the southeast area of the city and around the university.
Susan Stiers, associate director of Off-Campus Connections, said 16,700 out of 23,191 students lived off-campus last year. That number is for undergraduate students only and doesn’t include graduate or law school students.
“We help students as the situation arises. Every semester is different,” Stiers said.
Amanda Finch is program coordinator for the Center for Community Engagement that oversees the university food pantry.
“We have a sense of the food insecurities among students but we don’t ask economic questions,” she said. “Off-campus students use the food pantry more than students living on-campus.”
Freshmen are required to live on campus and have to purchase a minimum food plan, Finch said. Meal plans are available for off-campus students, Stiers said.
During the three-year Census study, about 23.2 million students were enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs nationwide. Most of the students were between 18 and 29. About 63 percent lived in family households with parents or relatives; 12 percent lived in dormitories, correctional institutions, military quarters or other group living accommodations; and 25 percent lived in off-campus nonfamily households.
In Arkansas, 64 percent of 187,260 students live at home with parents or relatives; 13 percent live in dormitories or other quarters; and 23 percent live off-campus.