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LSNJ's Poverty Research Institute

Poverty in New Jersey

Through the Poverty Research Institute, Legal Services of New Jersey has begun conducting basic research on poverty in New Jersey - exploring its impact on our clients and its interrelationship with employment and welfare. The papers generated by this research will be posted to this page in the future. And if you are an attorney licensed to practice in New Jersey please consider volunteering your services to assist just one client this year.

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  • New Jersey Poverty Research Institute brochure (PDF)

  • Analysis of 2007 Poverty and Income Data

  • Not Enough To Live On: Characteristics of Households Below the Real Cost of Living in New Jersey - This report discusses the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of New Jersey residents with inadequate incomes according to research on the Real Cost of Living (RCL) in New Jersey. The report builds on the RCL report series that was inaugurated in 1999 and most recently updated in 2008, and uses the alternative measure of income sufficiency calculated in these reports to analyze the characteristics of three different groups — those with incomes below the federal poverty level, those with incomes above the federal poverty levels but below the RCL and those with incomes above the RCL. This analysis provides a more accurate estimate of households whose incomes fall short of self-sufficiency and how they compare to other, more economically-stable groups. Factors such as employment, demographic characteristics, educational attainment and geographic distribution of income inadequacy across the state are examined to provide insight into patterns income insufficiency in the state and policy choices that will help improve the economic situation of households that lack essential financial resources. The report’s unit of analysis is households rather than individuals, and the Study Population is restricted to households with working-age adults that have no work-inhibiting disability.

  • The Real Cost of Living in 2008: The Self-Sufficiency Standard for New Jersey

    An updated report in the Real Cost of Living series produced by Dr. Diana Pearce, Ph.D. of the University of Washington. The report provides a detailed analysis of the cost of living in New Jersey for working families based on the true cost of basic household expenses including housing, child care, health care, and food. It also provides a comparison of the Real Cost of Living to other benchmarks of income including the federal poverty level, welfare income, and minimum wage income. Several policy implications flow from the report’s themes and the report includes information on key action the state could take to help New Jersey families meet their basic needs given the high cost of living.


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