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Hunger in DuPage County

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  • Poverty – (SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau 2019)

    • 54,813 or 6.0% of DuPage County residents are living in poverty

    • 15,108 or 7.4% of DuPage County children are living in poverty
       

  • SNAP Monthly Participation (individuals) – (SOURCE:  Illinois Department of Human Services)

    • 2017: 67,230                 2018: 53,365                 2019: 63,068                 2020: 77,035                 April 2021: 75,558
       

  • Food Insecurity – (SOURCE:  Feeding America - Map the Meal Gap 2019 & The Impact of Coronavirus on Food Insecurity)

    • 9.5% of DuPage County Residents are projected to be insecure as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic, as of March 2021

    • 6.1% of DuPage County Residents were food insecure in 2019 (the most recent statistical data available)
       

  • Self-Sufficiency Standard – (SOURCE:  Heartland Alliance Social Impact Research Center)

    • As of 2019, an adult with one preschooler and one school-age child needs to earn $32.27 per hour to make ends meet, one of the highest in IL.  

    • 60,269 people in DuPage County were living in poverty in 2018 (BEFORE the current economic crisis)
       

  • Housing – (SOURCE: Report of Illinois Poverty - A Heartland Alliance Program)

    • Fair Market Rent (FMR) on a two bedroom apartment in DuPage County: $1,213  (2019 data)

    • The mean renter in DuPage County earns $19.01

    • In order to afford the FMR on a two bedroom one would need to make $23.31/hr

    • A person making minimum wage would need to work 113 hours per week to afford FMR on a two bedroom

 

More and more people are faced with the harsh realities of trying to make ends meet. Even working two or more jobs is not enough. Growing numbers of folks are struggling and need NFP’s assistance to pay their rent/mortgage before they and their families are evicted or to pay a bill before one of their utilities is shut off.

Click here to find local resources.
 

Those who are not necessarily living in poverty as defined above can find themselves just one paycheck away from losing their homes and everything else. Unemployment, divorce, illness, hospitalization, lack of health insurance, fire, death of the primary wage earner--any one of these can be too much for a family already living on the edge.

 

Assistance through NFP's program can make all the difference in the world.

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