NCUA Workbook update results in decline of LID population

The NCUA recently released an updated version of its Low-Income Designated (LID) Area Workbook, used to determine which geographic areas are classified as low-income. The new workbook implements the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) data to provide a list of the counties, census tracts, census block groups, and zip codes that meet the threshold.

The update moves from 2019 ACS data to 2020 ACS data, and brings with it a variety of changes.

When considering the country as a whole, there has been a decrease in the number of individuals that qualify as low-income. Whereas with the last workbook approximately 188.25 million individuals (making up 57.39% of the total population) qualified as low-income, now 181.95 million individuals (55.17% of the total population) meet the criteria.

An Outsized Impact on Certain States

At the state level, there were only four (out of the 50 states plus District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) that saw an increase in their low-income population.

 

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