In 2023, the around 11.1 percent of the population was living below the national poverty line in the United States. Poverty in the United StatesAs shown in the statistic above, the poverty rate among all people living in the United States has shifted within the last 15 years. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines poverty as follows: “Absolute poverty measures poverty in relation to the amount of money necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. The concept of absolute poverty is not concerned with broader quality of life issues or with the overall level of inequality in society.” The poverty rate in the United States varies widely across different ethnic groups. American Indians and Alaska Natives are the ethnic group with the most people living in poverty in 2022, with about 25 percent of the population earning an income below the poverty line. In comparison to that, only 8.6 percent of the White (non-Hispanic) population and the Asian population were living below the poverty line in 2022. Children are one of the most poverty endangered population groups in the U.S. between 1990 and 2022. Child poverty peaked in 1993 with 22.7 percent of children living in poverty in that year in the United States. Between 2000 and 2010, the child poverty rate in the United States was increasing every year; however,this rate was down to 15 percent in 2022. The number of people living in poverty in the U.S. varies from state to state. Compared to California, where about 4.44 million people were living in poverty in 2022, the state of Minnesota had about 429,000 people living in poverty.

In 2023, about 15.3 percent of children under 18-years-old were living below the poverty line in the United States, significantly lower than 1990. While still high, the rate has seen a general decline throughout the last decade. Historic lows were recorded in 2019 when the child poverty rate was 14.4 percent.

The Census Bureau determines that a person is living in poverty when his or her total household income compared with the size and composition of the household is below the poverty threshold. The Census Bureau uses the federal government's official definition of poverty to determine the poverty threshold. Beginning in 2000, individuals were presented with the option to select one or more races. In addition, the Census asked individuals to identify their race separately from identifying their Hispanic origin. The Census has published individual tables for the races and ethnicities provided as supplemental information to the main table that does not dissaggregate by race or ethnicity. Race categories include the following - White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Some other race, and Two or more races. We are not including specific combinations of two or more races as the counts of these combinations are small. Ethnic categories include - Hispanic or Latino and White Non-Hispanic. This data comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates, table B17001. The ACS collects these data from a sample of households on a rolling monthly basis. ACS aggregates samples into one-, three-, or five-year periods. CTdata.org generally carries the five-year datasets, as they are considered to be the most accurate, especially for geographic areas that are the size of a county or smaller.Poverty status determined is the denominator for the poverty rate. It is the population for which poverty status was determined so when poverty is calculated they exclude institutionalized people, people in military group quarters, people in college dormitories, and unrelated individuals under 15 years of age.Below poverty level are households as determined by the thresholds based on the criteria of looking at household size, Below poverty level are households as determined by the thresholds based on the criteria of looking at household size, number of children, and age of householder.number of children, and age of householder.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People of All Ages in Poverty for United States (PPAAUS00000A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about percent, child, poverty, and USA.

This dataset uses U.S. Census table B17020 - Poverty Status by Age The data shows the number of people per locality, the overall number of people living below the poverty level per locality, and then the number of people under age 18 living below the poverty level per locality. This last data element is broken down into three segments - aged <6 years, 6-11 years, and 12-17 years, which when added together equal the total number of children under age 18 living below the poverty level per locality.

Graph and download economic data for Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: Married-Couple Families With and Without Children Under 18 Years, Below Poverty Threshold (HSTPOVARWWCU18YMCFBPN) from 1973 to 2023 about under 18 years, family, child, poverty, and USA.

In 2023, 17.9 percent of Black people living in the United States were living below the poverty line, compared to 7.7 percent of white people. That year, the total poverty rate in the U.S. across all races and ethnicities was 11.1 percent. Poverty in the United States Single people in the United States making less than 12,880 U.S. dollars a year and families of four making less than 26,500 U.S. dollars a year are considered to be below the poverty line. Women and children are more likely to suffer from poverty, due to women staying home more often than men to take care of children, and women suffering from the gender wage gap. Not only are women and children more likely to be affected, racial minorities are as well due to the discrimination they face. Poverty data Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the United States had the third highest poverty rate out of all OECD countries in 2019. However, the United States' poverty rate has been fluctuating since 1990, but has been decreasing since 2014. The average median household income in the U.S. has remained somewhat consistent since 1990, but has recently increased since 2014 until a slight decrease in 2020, potentially due to the pandemic. The state that had the highest number of people living below the poverty line in 2020 was California.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Poverty (EQ5)

FULL MEASURE NAME
The share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit

LAST UPDATED
January 2023

DESCRIPTION
Poverty refers to the share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit, which varies based on the number of individuals in a given household. It reflects the number of individuals who are economically struggling due to low household income levels.

DATA SOURCE
U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census - http://www.nhgis.org
1980-2000

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/
2007-2021
Form C17002

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
The U.S. Census Bureau defines a national poverty level (or household income) that varies by household size, number of children in a household, and age of householder. The national poverty level does not vary geographically even though cost of living is different across the United States. For the Bay Area, where cost of living is high and incomes are correspondingly high, an appropriate poverty level is 200% of poverty or twice the national poverty level, consistent with what was used for past equity work at MTC and ABAG. For comparison, however, both the national and 200% poverty levels are presented.

For Vital Signs, the poverty rate is defined as the number of people (including children) living below twice the poverty level divided by the number of people for whom poverty status is determined. The household income definitions for poverty change each year to reflect inflation. The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or non-cash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid and food stamps).

For the national poverty level definitions by year, see: US Census Bureau Poverty Thresholds - https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html.

For an explanation on how the Census Bureau measures poverty, see: How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty - https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.

American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020.

To be consistent across metropolitan areas, the poverty definition for non-Bay Area metros is twice the national poverty level. Data were not adjusted for varying income and cost of living levels across the metropolitan areas.

In 2023 the poverty rate in the United States was highest among people between 18 and 24, with a rate of 16 percent for male Americans and a rate of 21 percent for female Americans. The lowest poverty rate for both men and women was for those aged between 45 and 54. What is the poverty line? The poverty line is a metric used by the U.S. Census Bureau to define poverty in the United States. It is a specific income level that is considered to be the bare minimum a person or family needs to meet their basic needs. If a family’s annual pre-tax income is below this income level, then they are considered impoverished. The poverty guideline for a family of four in 2021 was 26,500 U.S. dollars. Living below the poverty line According to the most recent data, almost one-fifth of African Americans in the United States live below the poverty line; the most out of any ethnic group. Additionally, over 7.42 million families in the U.S. live in poverty – a figure that has held mostly steady since 1990, outside the 2008 financial crisis which threw 9.52 million families into poverty by 2012. The poverty gender gap Wage inequality has been an ongoing discussion in U.S. discourse for many years now. The poverty gap for women is most pronounced during their child-bearing years, shrinks, and then grows again in old age. While progress has been made on the gender pay gap over the last 30 years, there are still significant disparities, even in occupations that predominantly employ men. Additionally, women are often having to spend more time attending to child and household duties than men.

In 2023, Wildwood-The Villages metropolitan area in Florida was ranked first, with 39.3 percent of its population aged under 18 years living below the poverty level. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area in Texas had the second-highest rate of child poverty in the nation.

This layer was developed by the Research & Analytics Group of the Atlanta Regional Commission, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates for 2013-2017, to show population in poverty by Neighborhood Planning Units S, T, and V in the Atlanta region.

The user should note that American Community Survey data represent estimates derived from a surveyed sample of the population, which creates some level of uncertainty, as opposed to an exact measure of the entire population (the full census count is only conducted once every 10 years and does not cover as many detailed characteristics of the population). Therefore, any measure reported by ACS should not be taken as an exact number – this is why a corresponding margin of error (MOE) is also given for ACS measures. The size of the MOE relative to its corresponding estimate value provides an indication of confidence in the accuracy of each estimate. Each MOE is expressed in the same units as its corresponding measure; for example, if the estimate value is expressed as a number, then its MOE will also be a number; if the estimate value is expressed as a percent, then its MOE will also be a percent.

The user should also note that for relatively small geographic areas, such as census tracts shown here, ACS only releases combined 5-year estimates, meaning these estimates represent rolling averages of survey results that were collected over a 5-year span (in this case 2013-2017). Therefore, these data do not represent any one specific point in time or even one specific year. For geographic areas with larger populations, 3-year and 1-year estimates are also available.

For further explanation of ACS estimates and margin of error, visit Census ACS website.

Naming conventions:

Prefixes:

None

Count

p

Percent

r

Rate

m

Median

a

Mean (average)

t

Aggregate (total)

ch

Change in absolute terms (value in t2 - value in t1)

pch

Percent change ((value in t2 - value in t1) / value in t1)

chp

Change in percent (percent in t2 - percent in t1)

Suffixes:

None

Change over two periods

_e

Estimate from most recent ACS

_m

Margin of Error from most recent ACS

_00

Decennial 2000

Attributes:

SumLevel

Summary level of geographic unit (e.g., County, Tract, NSA, NPU, DSNI, SuperDistrict, etc)

GEOID

Census tract Federal Information Processing Series (FIPS) code

NAME

Name of geographic unit

Planning_Region

Planning region designation for ARC purposes

Acres

Total area within the tract (in acres)

SqMi

Total area within the tract (in square miles)

County

County identifier (combination of Federal Information Processing Series (FIPS) codes for state and county)

CountyName

County Name

PopPovDet_e

# Population for whom poverty status is determined, 2017

PopPovDet_m

# Population for whom poverty status is determined, 2017 (MOE)

PopPov_e

# Population below poverty, 2017

PopPov_m

# Population below poverty, 2017 (MOE)

pPopPov_e

% Population below poverty, 2017

pPopPov_m

% Population below poverty, 2017 (MOE)

PopPovU18Det_e

# Population under 18 years for whom poverty status is determined, 2017

PopPovU18Det_m

# Population under 18 years for whom poverty status is determined, 2017 (MOE)

PopPovU18_e

# Population under 18 years below poverty, 2017

PopPovU18_m

# Population under 18 years below poverty, 2017 (MOE)

pPopPovU18_e

% Population under 18 years below poverty, 2017

pPopPovU18_m

% Population under 18 years below poverty, 2017 (MOE)

PopPov18_64Det_e

# Population 18 to 64 years for whom poverty status is determined, 2017

PopPov18_64Det_m

# Population 18 to 64 years for whom poverty status is determined, 2017 (MOE)

PopPov18_64_e

# Population 18 to 64 years below poverty, 2017

PopPov18_64_m

# Population 18 to 64 years below poverty, 2017 (MOE)

pPopPov18_64_e

% Population 18 to 64 years below poverty, 2017

pPopPov18_64_m

% Population 18 to 64 years below poverty, 2017 (MOE)

PopPov65PDet_e

# Population 65 years and over for whom poverty status is determined, 2017

PopPov65PDet_m

# Population 65 years and over for whom poverty status is determined, 2017 (MOE)

PopPov65P_e

# Population 65 years and over below poverty, 2017

PopPov65P_m

# Population 65 years and over below poverty, 2017 (MOE)

pPopPov65P_e

% Population 65 years and over below poverty, 2017

pPopPov65P_m

% Population 65 years and over below poverty, 2017 (MOE)

FamWChildPovStat_e

# Families with related children, 2017

FamWChildPovStat_m

# Families with related children, 2017 (MOE)

FamWChild150Pov_e

# Families with related children below 150 percent of the poverty line, 2017

FamWChild150Pov_m

# Families with related children below 150 percent of the poverty line, 2017 (MOE)

pFamWChild150Pov_e

% Families with related children below 150 percent of the poverty line, 2017

pFamWChild150Pov_m

% Families with related children below 150 percent of the poverty line, 2017 (MOE)

ChildPovStatRatio_e

# Children for whom poverty status is determined, 2017

ChildPovStatRatio_m

# Children for whom poverty status is determined, 2017 (MOE)

ChildInFam200Pov_e

# Children in families below 200 percent of the poverty line, 2017

ChildInFam200Pov_m

# Children in families below 200 percent of the poverty line, 2017 (MOE)

pChildInFam200Pov_e

% Children in families below 200 percent of the poverty line, 2017

pChildInFam200Pov_m

% Children in families below 200 percent of the poverty line, 2017 (MOE)

last_edited_date

Last date the feature was edited by ARC

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta Regional Commission

Date: 2013-2017

For additional information, please visit the Census ACS website.

Among the OECD countries, Costa Rica had the highest share of children living in poverty, reaching 28.5 percent in 2022. Türkiye followed with a share of 22 percent of children living in poverty, while 20.5 percent of children in Spain, Chile, and the United States did the same. On the other hand, only three percent of children in Finland were living in poverty.

This table contains data on the percentage of the total population living below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), and the percentage of children living below 200% FPL for California, its regions, counties, cities, towns, public use microdata areas, and census tracts. Data for time periods 2011-2015 (overall poverty) and 2012-2016 (child poverty) and with race/ethnicity stratification is included in the table. The poverty rate table is part of a series of indicators in the Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project of the Office of Health Equity. Poverty is an important social determinant of health (see http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=39) that can impact people’s access to basic necessities (housing, food, education, jobs, and transportation), and is associated with higher incidence and prevalence of illness, and with reduced access to quality health care. More information on the data table and a data dictionary can be found in the About/Attachments section.

This map shows children in poverty throughout the United States. It is shown as the count of children in poverty, and the percentage of children living under the Federal poverty level. This is shown by state, county, and tract geographies.The data shown is current-year American Community Survey (ACS) data from the US Census. The data is updated each year when the ACS releases its new 5-year estimates. For more information about this data, visit this page. For the most current national figures, visit data.census.gov.To learn more about when the ACS releases data updates, click here.

In 2023, women in households with an income below the poverty threshold had the highest birth rate in the United States, at 72 births per 1,000 women.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Poverty (EQ5)

FULL MEASURE NAME The share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit

LAST UPDATED December 2018

DESCRIPTION Poverty refers to the share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit, which varies based on the number of individuals in a given household. It reflects the number of individuals who are economically struggling due to low household income levels.

DATA SOURCE U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census http://www.nhgis.org (1980-1990) http://factfinder2.census.gov (2000)

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey Form C17002 (2006-2017) http://api.census.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) The U.S. Census Bureau defines a national poverty level (or household income) that varies by household size, number of children in a household, and age of householder. The national poverty level does not vary geographically even though cost of living is different across the United States. For the Bay Area, where cost of living is high and incomes are correspondingly high, an appropriate poverty level is 200% of poverty or twice the national poverty level, consistent with what was used for past equity work at MTC and ABAG. For comparison, however, both the national and 200% poverty levels are presented.

For Vital Signs, the poverty rate is defined as the number of people (including children) living below twice the poverty level divided by the number of people for whom poverty status is determined. Poverty rates do not include unrelated individuals below 15 years old or people who live in the following: institutionalized group quarters, college dormitories, military barracks, and situations without conventional housing. The household income definitions for poverty change each year to reflect inflation. The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps). For the national poverty level definitions by year, see: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/index.html For an explanation on how the Census Bureau measures poverty, see: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/measure.html

For the American Community Survey datasets, 1-year data was used for region, county, and metro areas whereas 5-year rolling average data was used for city and census tract.

To be consistent across metropolitan areas, the poverty definition for non-Bay Area metros is twice the national poverty level. Data were not adjusted for varying income and cost of living levels across the metropolitan areas.

The 2018-2019 School Neighborhood Poverty Estimates are based on school locations from the 2018-2019 Common Core of Data (CCD) school file and income data from families with children ages 5 to 17 in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015-2019 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year collection. The ACS is a continuous household survey that collects social, demographic, economic, and housing information from the population in the United States each month. The Census Bureau calculates the income-to-poverty ratio (IPR) based on money income reported for families relative to the poverty thresholds, which are determined based on the family size and structure. Noncash benefits (such as food stamps and housing subsidies) are excluded, as are capital gains and losses. The IPR is the percentage of family income that is above or below the federal poverty level. The IPR indicator ranges from 0 to a top-coded value of 999. A family with income at the poverty threshold has an IPR value of 100. The estimates in this file reflect the IPR for the neighborhoods around schools which may be different from the neighborhood conditions of students enrolled in schools.All information contained in this file is in the public domain. Data users are advised to review NCES program documentation and feature class metadata to understand the limitations and appropriate use of these data.

The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is a measure of poverty issued every year by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The 2022 FPL thresholds for a family of four correspond to annual incomes of $27,750 (100% FPL), $55,500 (200% FPL), and $83,250 (300% FPL).The Federal Poverty Level is used to determine eligibility for certain programs and benefits. Across the US, including in Los Angeles County, children represent the largest age group of individuals experiencing poverty. While poverty exerts negative impacts across the lifespan, childhood poverty is of particular concern. Children living in poverty are not only at higher risk for developmental delays, chronic illness, lead exposure, and food and housing insecurity, but they are also more likely to experience poverty into adulthood, which perpetuates generational cycles of poverty.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

CHILDREN_POVERTY_2012_USCB_IN.SHP is a polygon shapefile showing 2012 census data showing percentages of children in poverty for each 2012-2013 school district within Indiana. Poverty data were provided by personnel of the Indiana Business Research Center (Rachel Strange, Geodemographic Analyst, Managing Editor, IBRC), which were obtained from the Web page of the U. S. Department of Commerce, U. S. Census Bureau, titled "Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates," http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/interactive/#. Discussion of these data, which are estimates produced under the Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program, are provided at http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/about/index.html. The following is excerpted from metata of the U.S. Census Bureau (2012-2013 School Districts) and also from the Web page of the SAIPE program ( http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/downloads/sd13/README.txt ) : "School Districts are single-purpose administrative units within which local officials provide public educational services for the area's residents. The Census Bureau obtains school district boundaries, names, local education agency codes, grade ranges, and school district levels biennially from state school officials. The Census Bureau collects this information for the primary purpose of providing the U.S. Department of Education with annual estimates of the number of children in poverty within each school district, county, and state. This information serves as the basis for the Department of Education to determine the annual allocation of Title I funding to states and school districts. "The 2013 TIGER/Line Shapefiles include separate shapefiles for elementary, secondary, and unified school districts. The 2013 shapefiles contain information from the 2012-2013 school year. The 2012-2013 school districts represent districts in operation as of January 1, 2013. "The elementary school districts provide education to the lower grade/age levels and the secondary school districts provide education to the upper grade/age levels. The unified school districts are districts that provide education to children of all school ages. In general, where there is a unified school district, no elementary or secondary school district exists (see exceptions described below), and where there is an elementary school district the secondary school district may or may not exist (see explanation below). "The U.S. Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program provides annual estimates of income and poverty statistics for all school districts, counties, and states. The main objective of this program is to provide estimates of income and poverty for the administration of federal programs and the allocation of federal funds to local jurisdictions. In addition to these federal programs, state and local programs use the income and poverty estimates for distributing funds and managing programs. "The SAIPE program produces the following county and state estimates: Total number of people in poverty. Number of childer under age 5 in poevery (for states only). â¢number of related children ages 5 to 17 in families in poverty. Number of children under age 18 in poverty. Median household income."

This statistic shows the percentage of the population aged 25 and over that live in households in poverty, as distinguished by their education level and household type. 47 percent of female householders with related children under the age of 18 who had never graduated from high school were living in poverty as of 2018.