In 2021, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the city with the highest poverty rate of the United States' most populated cities. In this statistic, the cities are sorted by poverty rate, not population. The most populated city in 2021 according to the source was New York city - which had a poverty rate of 18 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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in St. Louis city, MO (S1701ACS029510) from 2012 to 2023 about St. Louis City, MO; St. Louis; MO; percent; poverty; 5-year; population; and USA.

In 2023, around 27.4 percent of residents in Bremen were at risk of living in poverty. This list shows the 15 cities in Germany with the highest at-risk-of-poverty rates.

The municipalities of Manapiare and Bolívar, located in the Venezuelan states of Amazonas and Falcón, respectively, registered the highest share of population living under the poverty line in the country in 2021. That year, almost the entire population of these municipalities was reported to be living in poverty. All the 25 Venezuelan cities listed in this statistic had at least 99.7 percent of their population living under the poverty line.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Baltimore city, MD (S1701ACS024510) from 2012 to 2023 about Baltimore City, MD; Baltimore; MD; percent; poverty; 5-year; population; and USA.

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; percent; child; poverty; and USA.

In 2021, New York city had the highest number of people living below the poverty line, with 1.4 million people living in poverty. This is significantly higher than any of the other most populated cities.

Census Bureau tabulated population data in each decennial census. Poverty data is available in American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Summary File. Population data shows increasing whereas the poverty data shows decreasing in Los Angeles County from 2000 census to 2020 census. This poverty Dashboard is created to display and visualize the change in the poverty in LA County during three decennial censuses 2000, 2010 and 2020. The 2000 poverty data from 2000 census, and the 2010 and 2020 poverty from ACS 5YR Summary File. How population and poverty data by city and community are created?For population data, block centroids of 2000, 2010 and 2020 census blocks were intersected with the current city and community boundaries, and block-based population were aggregated by the current city and community boundaries. For poverty rate data, tract-based poverty data were extracted from ACS 5-YR Summary file, allocated to blocks by multiplying a tract-to-block allocation factor, and aggregated by the current city and community boundaries. These population and population below poverty level (below 100% FPL) data are based on current city/community boundaries and are created for general comparison purpose only. Since current city and community boundaries are different than those at 2000 and 2010 census due to annexation and incorporation of boundaries, the numbers should not be compared with those based on old city and community boundaries.

This map symbolizes the relative percentages of adults living below the poverty level for the City's 12 Data Divisions, aggregating the tract-level estimates from the the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2018 five-year samples. Please refer to the map's legend for context to the color shading -- darker hues indicate a higher level of adults living below the poverty level.If you click on each Data Division, you can view other Census demographic information about that Data Division in addition to the population count.About the Census Data:The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey's 2014-2018 five-year samples. The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey conducted by the federal government that provides vital information annually about America and its population. Information from the survey generates data that help determine how more than $675 billion in federal and state funds are distributed each year.For more information about the Census Bureau's ACS data and process of constructing the survey, visit the ACS's About page.About the City's Data Divisions:As a planning analytic tool, an interdepartmental working group divided Rochester into 12 “data divisions.” These divisions are well-defined and static so they are positioned to be used by the City of Rochester for statistical and planning purposes. Census data is tied to these divisions and serves as the basis for analyses over time. As such, the data divisions are designed to follow census boundaries, while also recognizing natural and human-made boundaries, such as the River, rail lines, and highways. Historical neighborhood boundaries, while informative in the division process, did not drive the boundaries. Data divisions are distinct from the numerous neighborhoods in Rochester. Neighborhood boundaries, like quadrant boundaries, police precincts, and legislative districts often change, which makes statistical analysis challenging when looking at data over time. The data division boundaries, however, are intended to remain unchanged. It is hoped that over time, all City data analysts will adopt the data divisions for the purpose of measuring change over time throughout the city.

This layer shows poverty status by age group. Data is from US Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.This layer is symbolized to show the percentage of the population whose income falls below the Federal poverty line. To see the full list of attributes available in this service, go to the "Data" tab, and choose "Fields" at the top right (in ArcGIS Online). To view only the census tracts that are predominantly in Tempe, add the expression City is Tempe in the map filter settings.A ‘Null’ entry in the estimate indicates that data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small (per the U.S. Census).Vintage: 2018-2022ACS Table(s): B17020 (Not all lines of these ACS tables are available in this feature layer.)Data downloaded from: Census Bureau's API for American Community SurveyData Preparation: Data curated from Esri Living Atlas clipped to Census Tract boundaries that are within or adjacent to the City of Tempe boundaryDate of Census update: December 15, 2023National Figures: data.census.gov

In 2021, the city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania had the highest family poverty rate of the 25 most populated cities in the United States. The city with the next highest poverty rate was Houston, Texas.

In 2014 and 2015, The LA County Enterprise GIS team under the Geographic Information Officer worked with the Unincorporated Area Deputies and Field Deputies of each Board Office to establish names that reflect the desires of residents. CSAs differ from the more informal Community geographies because:They are focused on broad statistics and reporting, not mapping of communities.They represent board approved names assigned to Census block groups and city boundaries.They cover the entire unincorporated County (no gaps).There are not overlapping areas. Additionally, CSAs use the following naming conventions:All names are assumed to begin with Unincorporated (e.g. Unincorporated El Camino Village) which will not be part of the CSA Name (so the name of the Statistical Area would be El Camino Village).Names will not contain “Island.” Beginning each name with Unincorporated will distinguish an area from any surrounding cities. There may be one or more exceptions for certain small areas (e.g. Bandini Islands)A forward slash implies an undetermined boundary between two areas within a statistical geography (e.g. Westfield/Academy Hills or View Park/Windsor Hills)Certain established names may include hyphens (e.g. Florence-Firestone)Aliases may be defined in parentheses (e.g. Unincorporated Long Beach (Bonner/Carson Park))The original set of names were derived from community names used in the 2011 Redistricting process, chosen with the assistance of the Board of Supervisors.Updates: 2023 December: CSA data updated to include "Unincorporated Charter Oak" (south of 10 Freeway) into "Unincorporated Covina".2023 June: CSA data was updated to include "Kinneloa Mesa" community, which was a part of Unincorporated East Pasadena.2023 January: Updated layer schema to include feature type (“FEAT_TYPE”) field, which can be one of land, water, breakwater, or pier (consistent with the City Boundaries layer).2022 December: CSA data was updated to incorporate the “Tesoro Del Valle” annexation to the city of Santa Clarita. Unincorporated Valencia is now completely annexed to the City of Santa Clarita. In addition to land area, this data also includes other feature types such as piers, breakwater and water area. 2022 September: CSA data was updated to match with city boundaries along shoreline/coastal area and minor boundary adjusted in some other areas.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People of All Ages in Poverty for Norfolk City, VA (PPAAVA51710A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Norfolk City, VA; Virginia Beach; VA; percent; child; poverty; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Roanoke city, VA (S1701ACS051770) from 2012 to 2023 about Roanoke City, VA; Roanoke; VA; percent; poverty; 5-year; population; and USA.

Note: These layers were compiled by Esri's Demographics Team using data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. These data sets are not owned by the City of Rochester.Overview of the map/data: This map shows the percentage of the population living below the federal poverty level over the previous 12 months, shown by tract, county, and state boundaries. Estimates are from the 2018 ACS 5-year samples. This service is updated annually to contain the most currently released American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data, and contains estimates and margins of error. There are also additional calculated attributes related to this topic, which can be mapped or used within analysis. Current Vintage: 2019-2023ACS Table(s): B17020, C17002Data downloaded from: Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey Date of API call: December 12, 2024National Figures: data.census.govThe United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS):About the SurveyGeography & ACSTechnical DocumentationNews & UpdatesThis ready-to-use layer can be used within ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, its configurable apps, dashboards, Story Maps, custom apps, and mobile apps. Data can also be exported for offline workflows. Please cite the Census and ACS when using this data.Data Note from the Census:Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data). The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.Data Processing Notes:This layer will be updated automatically when the most current vintage of ACS data is released each year, usually in December. The layer always contains the latest available ACS 5-year estimates. It is updated annually within days of the Census Bureau's release schedule. Click here to learn more about ACS data releases.Boundaries come from the US Census TIGER geodatabases. Boundaries are updated at the same time as the data updates (annually), and the boundary vintage appropriately matches the data vintage as specified by the Census. These are Census boundaries with water and/or coastlines clipped for cartographic purposes. For census tracts, the water cutouts are derived from a subset of the 2010 AWATER (Area Water) boundaries offered by TIGER. For state and county boundaries, the water and coastlines are derived from the coastlines of the 500k TIGER Cartographic Boundary Shapefiles. The original AWATER and ALAND fields are still available as attributes within the data table (units are square meters). The States layer contains 52 records - all US states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.Census tracts with no population are removed from this data service (Census Tracts beginning with 99).Percentages and derived counts, and associated margins of error, are calculated values (that can be identified by the "_calc_" stub in the field name), and abide by the specifications defined by the American Community Survey.Field alias names were created based on the Table Shells file available from the American Community Survey Summary File Documentation page.Negative values (e.g., -555555...) have been set to null. These negative values exist in the raw API data to indicate the following situations:The margin of error column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution.The median falls in the lowest interval of an open-ended distribution, or in the upper interval of an open-ended distribution. A statistical test is not appropriate.The estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate.The data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small. NOTE: any calculated percentages or counts that contain estimates that have null margins of error yield null margins of error for the calculated fields.

This dataset was developed by the Research & Analytics Group at the Atlanta Regional Commission using data from the U.S. Census Bureau across all standard and custom geographies at statewide summary level where applicable. For a deep dive into the data model including every specific metric, see the ACS 2017-2021 Data Manifest. The manifest details ARC-defined naming conventions, field names/descriptions and topics, summary levels; source tables; notes and so forth for all metrics. Find naming convention prefixes/suffixes, geography definitions and user notes below.Prefixes:NoneCountpPercentrRatemMedianaMean (average)tAggregate (total)chChange in absolute terms (value in t2 - value in t1)pchPercent change ((value in t2 - value in t1) / value in t1)chpChange in percent (percent in t2 - percent in t1)sSignificance flag for change: 1 = statistically significant with a 90% CI, 0 = not statistically significant, blank = cannot be computedSuffixes:_e21Estimate from 2017-21 ACS_m21Margin of Error from 2017-21 ACS_e102006-10 ACS, re-estimated to 2020 geography_m10Margin of Error from 2006-10 ACS, re-estimated to 2020 geography_e10_21Change, 2010-21 (holding constant at 2020 geography)GeographiesAAA = Area Agency on Aging (12 geographic units formed from counties providing statewide coverage)ARC21 = Atlanta Regional Commission modeling area (21 counties merged to a single geographic unit)ARWDB7 = Atlanta Regional Workforce Development Board (7 counties merged to a single geographic unit)BeltLine (buffer)BeltLine Study (subareas)Census Tract (statewide)CFGA23 = Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (23 counties merged to a single geographic unit)City (statewide)City of Atlanta Council Districts (City of Atlanta)City of Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Unit (City of Atlanta)City of Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Unit STV (3 NPUs merged to a single geographic unit within City of Atlanta)City of Atlanta Neighborhood Statistical Areas (City of Atlanta)City of Atlanta Neighborhood Statistical Areas E02E06 (2 NSAs merged to single geographic unit within City of Atlanta)County (statewide)Georgia House (statewide)Georgia Senate (statewide)MetroWater15 = Atlanta Metropolitan Water District (15 counties merged to a single geographic unit)Regional Commissions (statewide)SPARCC = Strong, Prosperous And Resilient Communities ChallengeState of Georgia (single geographic unit)Superdistrict (ARC region)US Congress (statewide)UWGA13 = United Way of Greater Atlanta (13 counties merged to a single geographic unit)WFF = Westside Future Fund (subarea of City of Atlanta)ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (statewide)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 2017-2021). 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.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta Regional CommissionDate: 2017-2021Data License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC by 4.0)Link to the data manifest: https://garc.maps.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/34b9adfdcc294788ba9c70bf433bd4c1/data

These data were developed by the Research & Analytics Group at the Atlanta Regional Commission using data from the U.S. Census Bureau across all standard and custom geographies at statewide summary level where applicable. .
For a deep dive into the data model including every specific metric, see the ACS 2018-2022 Data Manifest. The manifest details ARC-defined naming conventions, field names/descriptions and topics, summary levels; source tables; notes and so forth for all metrics. Find naming convention prefixes/suffixes, geography definitions and user notes below.Prefixes:NoneCountpPercentrRatemMedianaMean (average)tAggregate (total)chChange in absolute terms (value in t2 - value in t1)pchPercent change ((value in t2 - value in t1) / value in t1)chpChange in percent (percent in t2 - percent in t1)sSignificance flag for change: 1 = statistically significant with a 90% CI, 0 = not statistically significant, blank = cannot be computedSuffixes:_e22Estimate from 2018-22 ACS_m22Margin of Error from 2018-22 ACS_e102006-10 ACS, re-estimated to 2020 geography_m10Margin of Error from 2006-10 ACS, re-estimated to 2020 geography_e10_22Change, 2010-22 (holding constant at 2020 geography)GeographiesAAA = Area Agency on Aging (12 geographic units formed from counties providing statewide coverage)ARC21 = Atlanta Regional Commission modeling area (21 counties merged to a single geographic unit)ARWDB7 = Atlanta Regional Workforce Development Board (7 counties merged to a single geographic unit)BeltLineStatistical (buffer)BeltLineStatisticalSub (subareas)Census Tract (statewide)CFGA23 = Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (23 counties merged to a single geographic unit)City (statewide)City of Atlanta Council Districts (City of Atlanta)City of Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Unit (City of Atlanta)City of Atlanta Neighborhood Statistical Areas (City of Atlanta)County (statewide)Georgia House (statewide)Georgia Senate (statewide)HSSA = High School Statistical Area (11 county region)MetroWater15 = Atlanta Metropolitan Water District (15 counties merged to a single geographic unit)Regional Commissions (statewide)State of Georgia (single geographic unit)Superdistrict (ARC region)US Congress (statewide)UWGA13 = United Way of Greater Atlanta (13 counties merged to a single geographic unit)ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (statewide)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 2018-2022). 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.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta Regional CommissionDate: 2018-2022Data License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC by 4.0)Link to the data manifest: https://opendata.atlantaregional.com/documents/3b86ee614e614199ba66a3ff1ebfe3b5/about

Manassas City, VA - Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Manassas city, VA was 6.70% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Manassas City, VA - Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Manassas city, VA reached a record high of 12.70 in January of 2012 and a record low of 4.70 in January of 2022. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Manassas City, VA - Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Manassas city, VA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.