The current measures used by the US government show New York City with a poverty rate of 18.9 per cent. But the new measure shows that the rate is 23 per cent. And the new measure shows wide differences within that spectrum. There are fewer people in extreme poverty, reflecting the impact of anti-poverty assistance programs. But under the new measure, the number of elderly poor nearly doubles, from 18 per cent to 32 per cent, mostly because of health-care costs.

According to Mayor Bloomberg, the old system, in use since 1969, is based on how much people spend on food. "In the 1960s food accounted for more than 30 per cent of household spending, while today only one eighth is spent on food. The cost of housing and transportation take up a much larger slice of family income," the mayor’s advisers explained. The new poverty measurement, devised by New York's Center for Economic Opportunity, takes into account household spending on food, clothing, housing, transport, utilities and medical expenses.