Memorandum
City of Lawrence/Douglas County
Planning and Development Services
|
TO: |
Thomas M. Markus, City Manager |
|
FROM: |
Jeff Crick, Planning Manager |
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CC: |
Scott McCullough, Director, Planning and Development Services |
|
DATE: |
October 26, 2018 |
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RE: |
Effects of Off-Campus College Students on Poverty Rates |
The U.S. Census Bureau has recently released a study on the effects that off-campus college students can have on a community’s poverty rates.
Currently, the Bureau’s poverty estimate calculation explicitly excludes people living in group quarters, which include housing such as dormitories, residential nursing home, group homes, and shelters. However, a community’s poverty rate estimate would include college or graduate students who live in off-campus housing. Because many college students are recorded as living in the community and often have lower incomes, they can contribute to inflating the poverty rate.
For Douglas County, the Census Bureau notes that 11.9% of the County’s population is off-campus students and estimates the county’s poverty rate to be 19.2%. By removing off-campus students the poverty rate decreases by 7.2%, making the poverty rate without college students 12.0%.
Similarly, Lawrence’s off-campus student population is estimated to be 14.9% of the City’s population, with a 22.3% poverty rate. Following the removal of the college students, the poverty rate decreases 8.8%, to 13.5%.
|
Place |
Poverty Universe Population |
Off-Campus College Student |
Poverty rates, All People (Est.) |
Poverty rates, excluding off-campus college students (Est.) |
Differences (Est.) |
|
Douglas Co. |
107,522 |
11.9% |
19.2% |
12.0% |
7.2% |
|
Lawrence |
84,591 |
14.9% |
22.3% |
13.5% |
8.8% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: 5-year (2012-2016) American Community Survey
The following table is a selection of comparable and regional college towns for context.
|
Places |
Total number of people in poverty universe |
Percent off-campus college students |
Poverty rates, All People (Est.) |
Poverty rates, All people excluding off-campus college students (Est.) |
Differences (Est.) |
|
Austin, TX |
886,574 |
5.7% |
16.7% |
14.4% |
2.3% |
|
Lincoln, NE |
259,989 |
6.0% |
15.5% |
12.5% |
3.0% |
|
Durham, NC |
242,390 |
4.7% |
18.5% |
17.1% |
1.4% |
|
Lubbock, TX |
233,397 |
8.7% |
20.9% |
16.4% |
4.5% |
|
Springfield, MO |
154,479 |
7.9% |
25.9% |
22% |
3.9% |
|
Waco, TX |
122,533 |
8.6% |
27.5% |
22.5% |
5.0% |
|
Norman, OK |
110,674 |
11.7% |
17.9% |
12.7% |
5.2% |
|
Columbia, MO |
108,089 |
16.4% |
23.6% |
13.1% |
10.5% |
|
Ann Arbor, MI |
107,386 |
23.3% |
23.4% |
10.6% |
12.8% |
|
Boulder, CO |
95,728 |
19.8% |
22.0% |
9.7% |
12.3% |
|
College Station, TX |
93,474 |
30.8% |
33.1% |
15.0% |
18.1% |
|
Lawrence, KS |
84,591 |
14.9% |
22.3% |
13.5% |
8.8% |
|
Fayetteville, AR |
73,675 |
16.0% |
24.9% |
15.5% |
9.4% |
|
Bloomington, IN |
68,625 |
29.1% |
38.0% |
21.3% |
16.7% |
|
Iowa City, IA |
65,497 |
22.9% |
28.0% |
13.1% |
14.9% |
|
Ames, IA |
55,100 |
31.6% |
30.1% |
8.5% |
21.6% |
|
Manhattan, KS |
49,979 |
23.4% |
24.9% |
10.1% |
14.8% |
|
Chapel Hill, NC |
49,263 |
16.3% |
20.1% |
9.2% |
10.9% |
|
Stillwater, OK |
40,804 |
23.2% |
34.3% |
20.9% |
13.4% |
|
Morgantown, WV |
24,089 |
28.6% |
35.3% |
16.9% |
18.4% |
|
Hays, KS |
19,951 |
12.1% |
17.5% |
10.6% |
6.9% |
|
Pittsburg, KS |
18,875 |
16.9% |
29.4% |
20.1% |
9.3% |
|
Athens, OH |
16,028 |
46.7% |
54.7% |
29.3% |
25.4% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: 5-year (2012-2016) American Community Survey