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.

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 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.

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area in Texas was ranked first with 27.2 percent of its population living below the poverty level in 2023. Eagle Pass, Texas had the second-highest poverty rate, at 24.4 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.

In 2021, New York city had the highest number of families living below the poverty line, at an estimated 272,461 families. New York city is also the most heavily populated city in the United States.

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 study explored the lives of the working poor in the inner city. Three hundred male and female participants were drawn from central and west Harlem, New York City; 200 worked at one of four fast food restaurants in Harlem, and 100 had applied to one of those restaurants but were not hired. Participants were African American, Dominican and Puerto Rican of varied ages, most between 15 and 40 years of age. Educational status also varied, with the majority of participants' highest level of education being a high school degree. This study consists of three waves. The first wave was conducted in 1993-1994 with 300 participants. All 300 completed a survey, providing data on basic demographics (such as race, marital status, income, members of family, places where respondent has lived), as well as information on education, health care, and in-depth employment history. One-hundred fifty of these participants completed an extensive, semi-structured three to four hour interview telling their life history, covering topics such as family history; neighborhood identity; work history and aspirations; and race relations. Interviewers noted their impressions of the neighborhood and the physical appearance of the participant and her surroundings. The restaurant owners and managers were interviewed as well. Twelve of the participants agreed to be intensely studied; members of the research team worked alongside these participants at the fast food restaurants for four months, got to know their parents and children, and interviewed other key figures in their lives such as teachers and priests. The second wave was conducted in 1997-1998 with 100 of the original participants - some were employed, and some were unemployed. A survey was completed, addressing the same topics as the wave one survey. Interviews were conducted to ascertain life updates since wave one. The third wave was conducted in 2001-2002 with 40 of the 100 wave 2 participants. No more follow-up waves are planned. The Henry A. Murray Research Archives currently holds original record paper data, and audiotape data from waves 1 and 2 of this study.

Out of all 50 states, New York had the highest per-capita real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, at 90,730 U.S. dollars, followed closely by Massachusetts. Mississippi had the lowest per-capita real GDP, at 39,102 U.S. dollars. While not a state, the District of Columbia had a per capita GDP of more than 214,000 U.S. dollars. What is real GDP? A country’s real GDP is a measure that shows the value of the goods and services produced by an economy and is adjusted for inflation. The real GDP of a country helps economists to see the health of a country’s economy and its standard of living. Downturns in GDP growth can indicate financial difficulties, such as the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, when the U.S. GDP decreased by 2.5 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on U.S. GDP, shrinking the economy 2.8 percent. The U.S. economy rebounded in 2021, however, growing by nearly six percent. Why real GDP per capita matters Real GDP per capita takes the GDP of a country, state, or metropolitan area and divides it by the number of people in that area. Some argue that per-capita GDP is more important than the GDP of a country, as it is a good indicator of whether or not the country’s population is getting wealthier, thus increasing the standard of living in that area. The best measure of standard of living when comparing across countries is thought to be GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) which uses the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of a countries currency.

In 2021, the birth rate in the United States was highest in families that had under 10,000 U.S. dollars in income per year, at 62.75 births per 1,000 women. As the income scale increases, the birth rate decreases, with families making 200,000 U.S. dollars or more per year having the second-lowest birth rate, at 47.57 births per 1,000 women. Income and the birth rate Income and high birth rates are strongly linked, not just in the United States, but around the world. Women in lower income brackets tend to have higher birth rates across the board. There are many factors at play in birth rates, such as the education level of the mother, ethnicity of the mother, and even where someone lives. The fertility rate in the United States The fertility rate in the United States has declined in recent years, and it seems that more and more women are waiting longer to begin having children. Studies have shown that the average age of the mother at the birth of their first child in the United States was 27.4 years old, although this figure varies for different ethnic origins.

The monthly minimum wage in Russia as of January 1, 2025, amounted to ****** Russian rubles, or approximately *** U.S. dollars using the exchange rate as of February 28, 2025. In the capital Moscow, it was set at ****** Russian rubles, or around *** U.S. dollars. In the country's second-largest city, Saint Petersburg, it was lower, at ****** Russian rubles. Since 2021, the minimum wage in Russia has been calculated as 42 percent of the median wage. Between 2018 and 2020, it equaled to the minimum cost of living that was set in the country. The poor and the rich in Russia Around ** million residents lived under the poverty line in Russia. Those earning the highest 20 percent of income accounted for approximately ** percent of the total composite monetary income in 2023, while the group with the lowest income had a ***-percent share. Regional disparities The economic disparity was also observed across Russian federal subjects. The median monthly wage ranged from ****** Russian rubles in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic to ****** Russian rubles in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug between September 2018 and August 2019. Minimum wage thresholds can be regulated by regional authorities, as long as they are not lower than the federal minimum wage.

Guyana was the South American country 20360the highest gross national income per capita, with 20,360 U.S. dollars per person in 2023. Uruguay ranked second, registering a GNI of 19,530 U.S. dollars per person, based on current prices. Gross national income (GNI) is the aggregated sum of the value added by residents in an economy, plus net taxes (minus subsidies) and net receipts of primary income from abroad. Which are the largest Latin American economies? Based on annual gross domestic product, which is the total amount of goods and services produced in a country per year, Brazil leads the regional ranking, followed by Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. Many Caribbean countries and territories hold the highest GDP per capita in this region, measurement that reflects how GDP would be divided if it was perfectly equally distributed among the population. GNI per capita is, however, a more exact calculation of wealth than GDP per capita, as it takes into consideration taxes paid and income receipts from abroad. How much inequality is there in Latin America? In many Latin American countries, more than half the total wealth created in their economies is held by the richest 20 percent of the population. When a small share of the population concentrates most of the wealth, millions of people don't have enough to make ends meet. For instance, in Brazil, about 5.32 percent of the population lives on less than 3.2 U.S. dollars per day.

The Nigerian states of Sokoto and Taraba had the largest percentage of people living below the poverty line as of 2019. The lowest poverty rates were recorded in the South and South-Western states. In Lagos, this figure equaled 4.5 percent, the lowest rate in Nigeria.

A large population in poverty

In Nigeria, an individual is considered poor when they have an availability of less than 137.4 thousand Nigerian Naira (roughly 334 U.S. dollars) per year. Similarly, a person having under 87.8 thousand Naira (about 213 U.S. dollars) in a year available for food was living below the poverty line according to Nigerian national standards. In total, 40.1 percent of the population in Nigeria lived in poverty.

Food insecurity on the rise

On average, 21.4 percent of the population in Nigeria experienced hunger between 2018 and 2020. People in severe food insecurity would go for entire days without food due to lack of money or other resources. Over the last years, the prevalence with severe food among Nigerians has been increasing, as the demand for food is rising together with a fast-growing population.