A new report finds the poverty rate in AGÕæÈ˰ټÒÀÖ County may be increasing.
First, let's define just what we mean by poverty. By the , a family of four is living in poverty if they earn $24,036 or less annually.
Here in AGÕæÈ˰ټÒÀÖ County, the percentage of people living in poverty had been on the decline in recent years. But a from the , or CAN, says it appears that number is increasing for the first time since 2010.

The report, which examines Census data from the 2014 American Community Survey, says 193,753 residents â€� are living in poverty in AGÕæÈ˰ټÒÀÖ County.
However, researchers say they don’t have a big enough sample size to explicitly confirm poverty is on the rise � the American Community Survey only samples about 3 percent of the population.
Korey Darling with AGÕæÈ˰ټÒÀÖ County’s Health and Human Services Department says, because of that caveat, the county’s looking at the report with caution.
“It is something as a community we want to be kind of questioning and watching that and saying, ‘Is it a trend? Is poverty increasing?’� Darling says. “That’s not something we want. So, it’s a trend to watch, rather than something we can be completely sure of.�
Raul Alvarez, executive director of CAN, says the group is keeping an eye on the change, especially when it comes to racial disparities.
“The interesting statistic, I think, is when you look at it by race and ethnicity, and you see that the recovery for Hispanics and blacks have not improved as much,� he says.
CAN found that the Hispanic poverty rate is three times that of the white poverty rate in AGÕæÈ˰ټÒÀÖ County, while the poverty rate among black Austinites is nearly double. ÂÂCAN says the overall rate of poverty didn't show a "clear decreasing trend line" compared to previous years, increasing by nearly 17,000 residents over the past year's analysis.

You can check out the entire survey in the viewer below: