15 Percent Of Americans Live In Poverty

A Census Bureau report shows that 15 percent of the American population was living in poverty in 2012, according to the institution's definition of the state. The number of Americans in poverty has been increasing since the turn of the millennium, though there was a decline in the years directly before the financial crisis.

The United States Census Bureau defines poverty as a family of four living on less than $23,492 per year, or an individual under 65 living on less than $11,945 a year. Poverty is measured by the Census Bureau without regard...