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Posted: Thursday, November 15th, 2012 8:53 AM HST

New calculation boosts Hawaii's poverty rate

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's poverty rate is significantly higher when the state's high cost of living is taken into account. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser says new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau released Wednesday place Hawaii seventh-highest in the nation for poverty. Under the old formula, the state was the 18th lowest. The new calculation puts Hawaii's poverty rate at 17.4 percent — nearly 2 percentage points higher than the national average. According to the new estimate, some 229,000 Hawaii residents fall under the poverty line. That's about 64,000 more than are included in the official poverty rate. The new calculation, called the "supplemental poverty measure," is expected to eventually become the official way that poverty is measured in the United States.