Codes

This is a 15-digit numeric variable.

Description

SPMFAMUNIT uniquely identifies the family units used to calculate the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM).

SPM family units can differ from official poverty units in several ways, including: treating cohabiting partners as members of the same family; treating foster children under age 22 and children under 15 with no identifiable relatives in the household as members of the householder's family; and combining all individuals unrelated to the household head, but who related to one another in the same family unit regardless of the age or marital status.

To identify which SPM family units differ from the family units used to measure official poverty status, see SPMNEWFAM.

For more information on the construction of families used in the SPM, see the Census Bureau's "Unit of Analysis for Poverty Measurement: A Comparison of the Supplemental Poverty Measure and the Official Poverty Measure" report.

Comparability

SPMFAMUNIT is comparable across years from 2010 to 2018.

In 2019, the Census Bureau implemented a new processing system to accommodate survey changes. These changes affect income and relationship variables, making poverty measurements before and after 2019 incomparable. For more information on this overhaul, see our guide to the 2019 ASEC updates.

Universe

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Unharmonized Variables