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

In 2023, 8.3 percent of the families in the U.S. lived in poverty, reflecting a slight decrease from the previous year. The poverty rate of families in the last years has consistently been a decrease from a poverty rate of more than 10 percent in 1990.

World poverty rate for 2023 was 47.00%, a 1% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>World poverty rate for 2022 was <strong>48.00%</strong>, a <strong>0.6% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>World poverty rate for 2021 was <strong>48.60%</strong>, a <strong>1.8% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>World poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>50.40%</strong>, a <strong>4.1% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

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.

U.S. poverty rate for 2023 was 2.00%, a 0.2% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>U.S. poverty rate for 2022 was <strong>2.20%</strong>, a <strong>1.2% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>U.S. poverty rate for 2021 was <strong>1.00%</strong>, a <strong>0.5% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>U.S. poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>1.50%</strong>, a <strong>0.2% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

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.

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 2023, 15.4 percent of Black 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.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Kent County, DE (S1701ACS010001) from 2012 to 2023 about Kent County, DE; Dover; DE; percent; poverty; 5-year; population; and USA.

Brazil poverty rate for 2022 was 23.50%, a 4.9% decline from 2021.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Brazil poverty rate for 2021 was <strong>28.40%</strong>, a <strong>9.7% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Brazil poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>18.70%</strong>, a <strong>7.5% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Brazil poverty rate for 2019 was <strong>26.20%</strong>, a <strong>0.5% decline</strong> from 2018.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Thailand poverty rate for 2023 was 10.10%, a 2.8% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Thailand poverty rate for 2022 was <strong>12.90%</strong>, a <strong>1.2% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Thailand poverty rate for 2021 was <strong>14.10%</strong>, a <strong>1% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Thailand poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>15.10%</strong>, a <strong>0.1% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in District of Columbia (S1701ACS011001) from 2012 to 2023 about DC, Washington, percent, poverty, 5-year, population, and USA.

In 2023, about 17.8 percent of New Mexico's population lived below the poverty line. This was a slight increase from the previous year, when 17.6 percent of New Mexico residents lived below the poverty line. The poverty rate of the United States can be found here.

Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Indian River County, FL was 11.40% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Indian River County, FL reached a record high of 15.40 in January of 2014 and a record low of 10.30 in January of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Indian River County, FL - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Hungary - At Risk of Poverty rate: Less than 18 years was 14.30% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Hungary - At Risk of Poverty rate: Less than 18 years - last updated from the EUROSTAT on June of 2025. Historically, Hungary - At Risk of Poverty rate: Less than 18 years reached a record high of 25.00% in December of 2014 and a record low of 9.50% in December of 2020.

India poverty rate for 2022 was 82.10%, a 0.3% increase from 2021.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India poverty rate for 2021 was <strong>81.80%</strong>, a <strong>1.2% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>India poverty rate for 2020 was <strong>83.00%</strong>, a <strong>2.3% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>India poverty rate for 2019 was <strong>80.70%</strong>, a <strong>2% decline</strong> from 2018.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in San Francisco County, CA (S1701ACS006075) from 2012 to 2023 about San Francisco County/City, CA; San Francisco; CA; percent; poverty; 5-year; population; and USA.

This dataset contains Iowa population estimates by poverty status (past 12 months), sex and educational attainment for State of Iowa, individual Iowa counties, Iowa places and census tracts within Iowa. Data is from the American Community Survey, Five Year Estimates, Table B17003.

Poverty status includes the following: All Levels, Below Poverty Level, and Above Poverty Level.

Sex includes the following: Both, Male and Female.

Educational attainment includes the following: All Educational Levels, Less than High School Graduate, High School Graduate, Some College/Associate's Degree, and Bachelor's Degree or Higher.