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.

Graph and download economic data for Estimate of People of All Ages in Poverty in United States (PEAAUS00000A647NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about child, poverty, persons, and USA.

In 2023, about **** 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 **** percent.

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.

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.

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.

Office of Child Support Enforecment (OCSE) Story Behind the Numbers - Child Support Fact Sheet #3. This fact sheet focuses on data reported in a recent U.S. Census Bureau report, Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2011. The data reported are estimated based on a biennial survey of custodial parents, the Child Support Supplement to the Current Population Survey, March/April 2012, co-sponsored by the Office of Child Support Enforcement. The proportion of custodial parents living below poverty line continues to increase in 2011. The report found that 4.2 million custodial parents lived in poverty in 2011, representing 29 percent of all custodial parents, about twice the poverty rate for the total population. These statistics reinforce the essential role that child support services can play in helping low-income families, especially during an economic downturn.

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

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.

Percent of children living below the poverty line measures the percentage of persons under the age of 18, out of all persons under the age of 18 in an area, where total household income fell below the poverty threshold. Federal and state governments use such estimates to allocate funds to local communities. Local communities use these estimates to identify the number of individuals or families eligible for various programs. Source: American Community SurveyYears Available: 2010-2014, 2011-2015, 2012-2016, 2013-2017, 2014-2018, 2015-2019, 2016-2020, 2017-2021, 2018-2022, 2019-2023Please note: We do not recommend comparing overlapping years of data due to the nature of this dataset. For more information, please visit: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/guidance/comparing-acs-data.html

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.

Splitgraph serves as an HTTP API that lets you run SQL queries directly on this data to power Web applications. For example:

See the Splitgraph documentation for more information.

About the dataset

This dataset uses information from the DWP benefit system to provide estimates of children living in poverty for wards in London. In order to be counted in this dataset, a family must have claimed Child Benefit and at least one other household benefit (Universal Credit, tax credits or Housing Benefit) during the year. The numbers are calibrated to the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset used to provide the government's headline poverty statistics. The definition of relative low income is living in a household with equivalised* income before housing costs (BHC) below 60% of contemporary national median income. The income measure includes contributions from earnings, state support and pensions.

Further detail on the estimates of dependent children living in relative low income, including alternative geographical breakdowns and additional variables, such as age of children, family type and work status are available from DWP's statistical tabulation tool Stat-Xplore. Minor adjustments to the data have been applied to guard against the identification of individual claimants.

This dataset replaced the DWP children in out-of-work benefit households and HMRC children in low income families local measure releases.

This dataset includes estimates for all wards in London of numbers of dependent children living in relative low income families for each financial year from 2014/15 to the latest available (2022/23). The figures for the latest year are provisional and are subject to minor revision when the next dataset is released by DWP.

Headlines

Number of children

The number of dependent children living in relative low income across London, rose from below 310,000 in the financial year ending 2015 to over 420,000 in the financial year ending 2020, but has decreased since then to below 350,000, which is well below the number for financial year ending 2018. While many wards in London have followed a similar pattern, the numbers of children in low income families in some wards have fallen more sharply, while the numbers in other wards have continued to grow.

Proportion of children in each London ward

Ward population sizes vary across London, the age profile of that population also varies and both the size and make-up of the population can change over time, so in order to make more meaningful comparisons between wards or over time, DWP have also published rates, though see note below regarding caution when using these figures.

A dependent child is anyone aged under 16; or aged 16 to 19 in full-time non-advanced education or in unwaged government training. Ward level estimates for the total number of dependent children are not available, so percentages cannot be derived. Ward level estimates for the percentage of children under 16 living in low income families are usually published by DWP but, in its latest release, ward-level population estimates were not available at the time, so no rates were published. To derive the rates in this dataset, the GLA has used the ONS's latest ward-level population estimates (official statistics in development). Percentages for 2021/22 are calculated using the 2021 mid year estimates, while percentages for 2022/23 are calculated using the 2022 mid year estimates. As these are official statistics in development, rates therefore need to be treated with some caution.

Notes

*equivalised income is adjusted for household size and composition in order to compare living standards between households of different types.

In 2023, **** percent of Black people living in the United States were living below the poverty line, compared to *** percent of white people. That year, the total poverty rate in the U.S. across all races and ethnicities was **** percent. Poverty in the United States Single people in the United States making less than ****** U.S. dollars a year and families of four making less than ****** 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.

This map shows the percent of children living within poverty by county in the United States. The popup shows the breakdown of children within poverty by race, if the data is available. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 21% of all children live within poverty. The map uses this figure to show areas that are above or below the national average. Areas in orange represent areas that have a higher amount of children living within poverty.The data comes from the County Health Rankings 2018 layer. The report is from a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.According to the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps site "By ranking the health of nearly every county in the nation, the County Health Rankings help communities understand what influences how healthy residents are and how long they will live. These comparisons among counties provide context and demonstrate that where you live, and many other factors including race/ethnicity, can deeply impact your ability to live a healthy life. The Rankings not only provide this snapshot of your county’s health, but also are used to drive conversations and action to address the health challenges and gaps highlighted in these findings."Download the Excel file here: 2018 County Health Rankings

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People of All Ages in Poverty for Texas (PPAATX48000A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about percent, child, poverty, TX, and USA.

Map showing the ratio of children ages 0 -5 living under the federal poverty level, by Census Tract, in San Mateo County. Census Tract colors are normalized based on each Census Tract's population. Data comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2013 5 year estimates.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Lower Bound of Estimate of Percent of Related Children Age 5-17 in Families in Poverty for Live Oak County, TX (PPCILB5T17TX48297A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Live Oak County, TX; 5 to 17 years; family; percent; child; poverty; TX; and USA.

This map shows child poverty in the US by county, with an emphasis on the Black children living in poverty.The darkest colors in the map highlight where there are a higher percentage of Black children living in poverty. The symbol size shows the count of all children living in poverty. The data comes from County Health Rankings, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, measure the health of nearly all counties in the nation and rank them within states. The layer used in the map comes from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, and the full documentation for the layer can be found here. To explore other child poverty patterns, visit the following maps:Where is Black child poverty higher than total child poverty?Which race has the highest rate of child poverty?

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People Age 0-17 in Poverty for St. Louis City, MO (PPU18MO29510A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about St. Louis City, MO; St. Louis; under 18 years; MO; child; poverty; percent; and USA.

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.