BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Approximately 15.5% of Alabama’s population lives below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday.

In Alabama, approximately 21.4% of the population under 18 falls beneath that line, meaning about one in five children in the state live below the poverty level.

Approximately 23.5% of the Black population sits below the poverty line, while 11.8% of Alabama’s white population falls below it.

According to the report, 29.2% of Alabamians who did not complete high school fall under the poverty line, a statistic that could cause a stir as discussions of rising minimum wage continue amid labor shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, 13.9% of Alabama’s men fall below the poverty line, but 16.9% of women living in the state fall below the line, a discrepancy perhaps caused by a continued wage gap between the two genders.

To look at more Census data according to poverty levels, click here.