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Within Eugene and Springfield, the poverty level has remained steady since 1990, <br />despite the increase in population. According to the SOCDS, the poverty rate in Eugene <br />has increased 0.1% since 1990, and Springfield has experienced an increase of 1.4% in <br />the poverty rate. Overall, however, Eugene and Springfield have experienced an <br />increase in their poverty rate since 1969 of 4.4% and 8.0% respectively. After 1979, <br />both Eugene and Springfield have retained a higher poverty rate than the greater <br />metropolitan MSA area of Lane County. For Eugene, the poverty rate may have <br />reached a plateau from 1990-2000, but the numbers of individuals in poverty continues <br />to increase proportionally to the increase in Population. <br /> <br />Eugene Springfield MSA <br /> <br /> 1969 12.7 9.9 10.9 <br /> 1979 14.7 15.2 12.8 <br /> 1989 17.0 16.5 14.5 <br /> 1999 17.1 17.9 14.4 <br />Source: HUD SOCDS <br /> <br />Using the U.S. Census <br />data from 1990 and 2000, <br />poverty for the Eugene <br />and Springfield area can <br />be identified by looking at <br />the ratio of income to <br />poverty level. This data <br />identifies the population <br />for whom the ratio of their <br />income to poverty level is <br />1.0 or less, which <br />translates to an income <br />equal to, or less than the <br />poverty level for the area. <br />The term "below poverty <br /> <br />Poverty Rate <br />Persons below poverty level as a percentage of total population for whom <br />poverty level is determined <br /> <br />20.0 <br />18.0 <br /> <br />16.0 <br />14.0 <br />12.0 <br /> <br />10.0 <br /> 8.0 <br /> 8.0 <br /> 4.0 <br /> <br /> 2.0 <br /> 0.0 <br /> <br />1969 1979 1989 1999 <br /> <br />[~Springfield EugeneI <br /> <br />Year <br /> <br />level" referred to in this section is defined as population with a ratio of income to poverty <br />level of 0.99 and less. In Eugene, 17.1% of the population has an income below the <br />poverty level, while in Springfield, 17.9% of the population is below poverty level. <br />Comparatively, 4.2% of Eugene and 4.7% of Springfield are in the "near poor" range, <br />meaning that their income is either equal to or only right above the established poverty <br />level. Eugene has experienced a 6.4% increase in population whose income is <br />borderline poverty level, while Springfield has experienced a decrease in individuals who <br />have the "near poor" incomes. Within both communities, the parallel between population <br />and income ratios shows that individuals with an income ratio of 1.25 and up have <br />remained a steady percent of the population, from 1990-2000. However, further analysis <br />of this data reveals that the population with a ratio of 1.25-1.49 has increased by 40.0% <br />in Eugene, and decreased by 16.4% in Springfield. Springfield also experienced a <br />decrease in the income to poverty ratio ranges from 1.5-1.99. Further inspection of the <br />data shows that in Springfield, there has been an increase in the population whose <br />income is below poverty level and over twice the poverty level, with a decrease in all <br />ranges between, this illustrates a gap in the population's income to poverty level. <br /> <br />36 <br /> <br /> <br />