Codes

Information on the codes for this variable is not currently available.

Description

SPMTOTRES records the total economic resources of families and is used to construct the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). To estimate family resources, the value of in-kind benefits (e.g. food and nutrition program benefits and housing assistance) is first added to cash income. Then the value of federal and state tax liability, work, child care, and medical expenditures, and child support payments are subtracted to calculate SPMTOTRES. Poverty status is determined by dividing total resources by the SPM threshold available in SPMTHRESH. Poverty rates are defined for SPM family units which differ from the family units used to calculate official poverty; these units are identified in SPMFAMUNIT.

In 2014, the Census Bureau updated its SPMWIC values for CPS ASEC 2012, 2011 and 2010. Accordingly SPMTOTRES reflects these updated values. Extracts made on IPUMS-CPS before April 15th, 2014 have the outdated values for SPMTOTRES.

For more information on the calculation of total family resources for the SPM, see the Census Bureau's "The Research Supplemental Poverty Measure" report.

SPMTOTRES is expressed in dollars of the given year, rather than in constant dollars adjusted for inflation. Users can adjust for inflation with Consumer Price Index adjustment factors.

Comparability

Aside from the effects of inflation, SPMTOTRES is comparable across years in 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.

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