The risk of living in poverty changes over the life course. Poverty rates are highest for children and for the elderly when compared to those who are working age. For children, part of the reason is because the risk of poverty is tied to the income of their parents. And, most often, we tend to have children when we are young adults. This is also the time when we are more likely to earn less that we will later in our working years.

This issue of "Kentucky: By the Numbers" provides data on poverty by age groups and is one in a series of several profiles produced by "Kentucky: By the Numbers" examining different aspects of poverty at the county level in Kentucky.