Data Sources for
Poverty/Need Indicators in Pennsylvania
This page provides a central "directory" which links to a vast compendium of data about a variety of topics pertaining to the well-being of a community and its citizens. Some data are specific to the measurement of poverty, some data are pertinent to indicators of possible causes of poverty or the hazards attending poverty, and some data are aimed at identifying resources that may be relevant to addressing problems.
Database of PA Indicators (MS Access)
This is a custom-built database which gives the user the ability to generate custom tables of indicators for a selected groups of PA counties. There are several hundred indicators categorized into domains such as Income, Crime, Housing, Family, etc. The user selects which counties they want, and which domain of indicators they want> The database, then generates a new custom table accordingly and allows the user to View, Printout, or Export the table to MS Excel. After the table has been exported to MS Excel, the user can employ the Charting features of Excel to make graphs, charts, etc. that support planning.
When you click the link above, you are given a choice to OPEN or SAVE the database. Select the SAVE option to download it to your hard drive.
Workforce Information PA Dept of Labor & Industry (Web Link)
This is a vast repository of data about Pennsylvania's labor force, job market, wage and salary trends, occupational trends, and employers. The site not only provides statistics on these topics, but also identifies resources and workforce initiatives.
USA Counties (Web Link)
This site is one of many resources available from the US Census Bureau. This particular site allows the users to select a State and a County within that State, and then choose from fifty different "Profiles" of data to display about the selected county. The "Profiles" include Housing, Employment, Poverty, Crime, Health, Education, and many, many more.
Health 2006 County Health Profiles (Web Link)
This site is maintained by Pennsylvania Dept. of Health and provides a rich collection of health related information identified at the county level. The site not only provides statistics about health conditions, but also the health resources available at county levels, regional levels, state, and federal levels.
Teen Pregnancy and Parenting Issues (Web Link & PowerPoint)
This site is provided by "Families in Pennsylvania" (FIPA) of Penn State University. It provides data about teenage pregnancy, both nationwide and statewide, and presents a number of graphical displays of data in PowerPoint displays.. In addition, the site presents issues related to the problem as well as links to further resources on the topic.
Pennsylvania Quick Facts from the US Census Bureau (Web Link)
This site is provided by the US Census Bureau It provides access to the abundant amount of information collected by the various surveys conducted by the Census Bureau. The user can select to display data by County or City. There is a hot link on the page to "...more Pennsylvania data sets" which leads to a panoramic listing of data sets available about Pennsylvania.
NCCP Family Resource Simulator (Web Link)
The Family Resource Simulator is a web-based tool that simulates the impact of federal and state “work support” benefits on the budgets of low- to moderate- income families. It may be useful for planning how certain programs will affect families in a target area.
Demographics of Low Income Children in PA (Web Link)
These data charts are provided by the National Center for Children in Poverty. They describe characteristics of the parents' employment and education, housing status, nativity, ethnicity, and migration patterns.
The 2007 Statistical Abstract (Web Link)
This is the National Data Book of the United States and the most current source 2007. The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States
School Lunch Eligible Children in PA (2004) (MS Excel)
This is an MS Excel workbook compiled by PA Dept. of Education and shows the number of children eligible for reduced or free lunch by individual schools within each school district. The schools are arranged by counties and subtotals are computed for each district and each county. This is a very good resource for identifying where and how many children live in low-income households. To provide examples, the workbook has two TABs showing an extraction of data for Greene County and for Adam County. You can do this for any County or combinations Countie by copying and pasting rows from the main worksheet into new worksheets.
Occupations Jobs and Wages in PA (PDF)
This is a graphical compilation of various aspects of the employment market in Pennsylvania. It shows what occupations are increasing or declining, what the salary wages are for these occupations, and what the educational requirements are for these occupations.
Self Sufficiency Standards in PA (PDF)
This is compilation of the cost of living in various regions of Pennsylvania. It is compiled by PathWaysPA (formerly Women’s Association for Women’s Alternatives or W.A.W.A.), whose mission is aimed primarily at low-income women and children in Pennsylvania. When these data are used in combination with the NCCP Family Resource Simulator, listed above, one has a very powerful planning tool for matching program services and needs.
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Main Page (Web link)
This is a product of the US Census Bureau and provides estimates for periods more current than other census data. Data may be obtained at the County level or the School District level.
Living Wage Calculator for Pennsylvania Counties, Boroughs (Web Link)