The Need In Broward

Population in Broward County
- Population of 1.6M

Households in Broward County
- 741,043 housing units
- 298,725 single-family, detached homes

Low-Income Homeowners (80% of median income)*
- 98,400 in single family detached homes

Below Poverty Level Homeowners (35% of median income)**
- 33,300 in single family detached homes

Elderly
- Over the age of 65
- 261,109 seniors reside in Broward County
- The senior’s percent of the total population decreased from 20% in 1990 to 16% in 2000.
- 25,558 elderly persons are below the poverty level, which is 10% of the senior population.
- 5% of the senior population (12,358) have a disability and below poverty level.
- 50% of the elderly poor have a disability.

Persons with disabilities
- 309,937 have a disability (19% of Broward population)
- 45,143 are below the poverty level and have a disability (3% of Broward population).
- 25% of the residents below the poverty level have a disability.

Poverty** and Families with Children
- 184,589 individuals live below the poverty level (11.5% of the total population)..
- 35,964 families live below poverty level.
- 26,534 families with children below the poverty level, the majority of these families were headed by single mothers. For single mothers with pre-school children, 38% are below the poverty level.
- There has been a steady increase in individual and family poverty rates since 1980 in Broward County.
- Between 1990-2000, the number of families in poverty has grown by 50%, while the number of families in Broward County has grown by 22%.
- Children: A disproportionate number of poor residents are children: 32% of poor persons are under 18 years of age (58,815). While those persons under 18 years of age comprise 24% of the population.
- One out of seven children live in poverty (14%).

Highlights:

Note: *Low-income in Broward County is defined in this summary by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, and is a function of the median income, the actual family income and number of persons in the household. Less than 80% of the median income ($56,400) is low-income, then factored by the number of persons in the household. For example, a family of 4 with household income of $48,150.

** Poverty appears to be defined as ~35% of the median income ($56,400) then factored by the number of persons in the household. For example, a family of 4 with a household income of $17,603.