In 2024, **** percent of Black people living in the United States were living below the poverty line, compared to *** percent of white people. That year, the overall poverty rate in the U.S. across all races and ethnicities was **** percent. Poverty in the United States The poverty threshold for a single person in the United States was measured at an annual income of ****** U.S. dollars in 2023. Among families of four, the poverty line increases to ****** U.S. dollars a year. Women and children are more likely to suffer from poverty. This is due to the fact that women are more likely than men to stay at home, to care for children. Furthermore, the gender-based wage gap impacts women's earning potential. Poverty data Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the United States has some of the highest poverty rates among OECD countries. While, the United States poverty rate has fluctuated since 1990, it has trended downwards since 2014. Similarly, the average median household income in the U.S. has mostly increased over the past decade, except for the covid-19 pandemic period. Among U.S. states, Louisiana had the highest poverty rate, which stood at some ** percent in 2024.

In the U.S., the share of the population living in poverty fluctuated significantly throughout the six decades between 1987 and 2023. In 2023, the poverty level across all races and ethnicities was 11.1 percent. Black Americans have been the ethnic group with the highest share of their population living in poverty almost every year since 1974. In 1979 alone, Black poverty was well over double the national average, and over four times the poverty rate in white communities; in 1982, almost 48 percent of the Black population lived in poverty. Although poverty rates have been trending downward across all ethnic groups, 17.8 percent of Black Americans and 18.9 percent of American Indian and Alaskan Natives still lived below the poverty line in 2022.

In 2024, just over 45 percent of American households had an annual income that was less than 75,000 U.S. dollars. On the other hand, some 16 percent had an annual income of 200,000 U.S. dollars or more. The median household income in the country reached almost 84,000 U.S. dollars in 2024. Income and wealth in the United States After the economic recession in 2009, income inequality in the U.S. is more prominent across many metropolitan areas. The Northeast region is regarded as one of the wealthiest in the country. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maryland were among the states with the highest median household income in 2024. In terms of income by race and ethnicity, the average income of Asian households was highest, at over 120,000 U.S. dollars, while the median income among Black households was around half of that figure. What is the U.S. poverty threshold? The U.S. Census Bureau annually updates the poverty threshold based on the income of various household types. As of 2023, the threshold for a single-person household was 15,480 U.S. dollars. For a family of four, the poverty line increased to 31,200 U.S. dollars. There were an estimated 38.9 million people living in poverty across the United States in 2024, which reflects a poverty rate of 10.6 percent.

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.

Poverty Status by Town reports the number and percentage of people and children living in poverty, by race/ethnicity and age range.

Among Latin American countries in 2023, Colombia had the highest share of both Afro-descendants and indigenous people living impoverished, with 45.6 percent and 63.5 percent, respectively. Additionally, Colombia also had the highest share of indigenous people living under extreme poverty that year. Ecuador had the second-highest share of indigenous population whose average per capita income was below the poverty line, with 50.4 percent. Uruguay was the only nation where Afro-descendants were the ethnic group with the largest share of the poor population, as in the other selected countries such group was indigenous people.

Odds of self-reporting excellent or good health vs. fair or poor among U.S. farmworkers by race and ethnicity, stratified by participation in SNAP or WICa: National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), 2009/2010 (n = 3691).

The objective of this study is to assess the associations of race/ethnicity and severe housing problems with COVID-19 death rates in the US throughout the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a negative binomial regression model to estimate factors associated with COVID-19 deaths in 3063 US counties between March 2020 and July 2021 by wave and pooled across all three waves. In Wave 1, counties with larger percentages of Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN), and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) residents experienced a greater risk of deaths per 100,000 residents of +22.82 (95% CI 15.09, 30.56), +7.50 (95% CI 1.74, 13.26), +13.52 (95% CI 8.07, 18.98), and +5.02 (95% CI 0.92, 9.12), respectively, relative to counties with larger White populations. By Wave 3, however, the mortality gap declined considerably in counties with large Black, AIAN and AAPI populations: +10.38 (95% CI 4.44, 16.32), +7.14 (95% CI 1.14, 13.15), and +3.72 (95% CI 0.81, 6.63), respectively. In contrast, the gap increased for counties with a large Hispanic population: +13 (95% CI 8.81, 17.20). Housing problems were an important predictor of COVID-19 deaths. However, while housing problems were associated with increased COVID-19 mortality in Wave 1, by Wave 3, they contributed to magnified mortality in counties with large racial/ethnic minority groups. Our study revealed that focusing on a wave-by-wave analysis is critical to better understand how the associations of race/ethnicity and housing conditions with deaths evolved throughout the first three COVID-19 waves in the US. COVID-19 mortality initially took hold in areas characterized by large racial/ethnic minority populations and poor housing conditions. Over time, as the virus spread to predominantly White counties, these disparities decreased substantially but remained sizable.

In 2023, around ** percent of multiracial high school students in the United States reported experiencing poor mental health in the past 30 days, compared to ** percent of Asian students. This graph presents the percentage of high school students in the United States who experienced poor mental health in the past 30 days, by race/ethnicity.

In May 2025, the average hourly earnings of all employees in the United States was at 11.30 U.S. dollars. The data have been seasonally adjusted. The deflators used for constant-dollar earnings shown here come from the Consumer Price Indexes Programs. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Employees (CPI-U) is used to deflate the data for all employees. A comparison of the rate of wage growth versus the monthly inflation since 2020 rate can be accessed here. Real wages are wages that have been adjusted for inflation.

In 2023, around 28 percent of Hispanic women in the United States reported their health as only fair or poor. This statistic shows the percentage of women in the U.S. who reported their health as fair or poor in 2023, by race/ethnicity.

In 2022, American Indian/Native Alaskan women in the U.S. reported having an average of 7.2 poor mental health days per month, while white women reported an average of five poor mental health days per month. This statistic illustrates the average number of poor mental health days in the past 30 days among women in the U.S. in 2022, by race and ethnicity.

In 2023, 6.5 percent of Black married-couple families were living below the poverty line in the United States. Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter.

This statistic depicts the percentage of adults with poor mental health in the United States as of 2017, sorted by ethnicity. As of that year, some 40 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native adults had poor mental health.

This statistic shows the percentage of women in the U.S. who reported their mental health as poor from 2015 to 2017, by ethnicity. During this time, around 41 percent of non-Hispanic white women reported their mental health was "not good" between one and 30 days in the past 30 days.

As of December 2019, around ** percent of Hispanic adults aged 65 to 80 years in the U.S. reported fair or poor oral health. This statistic shows the percentage of U.S. adults aged 65-80 who reported fair or poor oral health as of December 2019, by race or ethnicity.

In 2023, it was estimated that *** percent of Hispanic children and adolescents in the United States aged 17 years and younger had fair or poor health. The share of non-Hispanic white children and adolescents who had just fair or poor health was slightly lower at that time, with *** percent.

Out of all OECD countries, Cost Rica had the highest poverty rate as of 2022, at over 20 percent. The country with the second highest poverty rate was the United States, with 18 percent. On the other end of the scale, Czechia had the lowest poverty rate at 6.4 percent, followed by Denmark.

The significance of the OECD

The OECD, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, was founded in 1948 and is made up of 38 member countries. It seeks to improve the economic and social well-being of countries and their populations. The OECD looks at issues that impact people’s everyday lives and proposes policies that can help to improve the quality of life.

Poverty in the United States

In 2022, there were nearly 38 million people living below the poverty line in the U.S.. About one fourth of the Native American population lived in poverty in 2022, the most out of any ethnicity. In addition, the rate was higher among young women than young men. It is clear that poverty in the United States is a complex, multi-faceted issue that affects millions of people and is even more complex to solve.

Inequality remains woven into America’s economic fabric, fuelling public debate and shaping politics. In 2024, the richest fifth of U.S. households captured more than half of national income, while the poorest secured a just 3.1 percent. This stark contrast highlights the concentration of wealth among high-income households. Measuring income inequality The Gini coefficient, a standard measure of income inequality, has steadily risen over the past three decades. In 1990, the Gini coefficient for households in the United States stood at 0.43, but by 2024 it had increased to 0.49. This upward trend indicates a growing gap between the rich and poor. Among state, the District of Columbia and New York exhibited the greatest income inequality. Utah, on the other hand, recorded the smallest wealth gap. Income inequality across demographics Income disparities are also drawn along ethnic and racial lines. In 2024, Asian households in the United States had the highest median annual income, followed by White households. Black Americans and American Indian and Alaska Native families had comparatively lower household incomes. The overall median income for U.S. households reached nearly 84,000 U.S. dollars that year. These figures highlight the persistent economic gaps among various racial and ethnic groups in America.

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.