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.

In 2023, the poverty rate of the United States was around 11.4 percent. Louisiana was the state with the highest poverty rate, at 18.9 percent. Poverty rates in the United States are higher than in many parts of the world, and minority groups are much more likely to be living in poverty when compared to white people.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People of All Ages in Poverty for Colorado (PPAACO08000A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about CO, percent, child, poverty, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Miami-Dade County, FL (S1701ACS012086) from 2012 to 2023 about Miami-Dade County, FL; Miami; FL; percent; poverty; 5-year; population; and USA.

Count and rate of population with income in the last 12 months below poverty level in an area. ( B17001). County and State values are from ACS 1-year survey.

In 2023, about four percent of the people with a Bachelor's degree or higher were living below the poverty line in the United States. This is far below the poverty rate of those without a high school diploma, which was 25.1 percent in 2023.

This dataset contains poverty estimates at county level based on US Census Bureau program, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE). The estimates are for counties and states in the United States, for the entire population and for three age groups of population.

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.

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: 2017-2021ACS 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 Survey Data 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 8, 2022National Figures: data.census.govAdditional Census data notes and data processing notes are available at the Esri Living Atlas Layer:https://tempegov.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=0e468b75bca545ee8dc4b039cbb5aff6 (Esri's Living Atlas always shows latest data)

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, about 36.79 million Americans were living below the national poverty line in the United States. Of those Americans, around 4.04 million had a four-year degree or higher. This means they have an income below 100 percent of the national poverty level as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

This layer shows Population and Poverty Status. This is shown by state and county boundaries. This service contains the 2018-2022 release of data from the 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. This layer is symbolized to show the percentage of people whose income in the past 12 months is below poverty level. To see the full list of attributes available in this service, go to the "Data" tab, and choose "Fields" at the top right.Current Vintage: 2018-2022ACS Table(s): B17017, C17002, DP02, DP03Data downloaded from: Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey Date of API call: January 18, 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:Boundaries come from the Cartographic Boundaries via US Census TIGER geodatabases. Boundaries are updated at the same time as the data updates, 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 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. The Counties (and equivalent) layer contains 3221 records - all counties and equivalent, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico municipios. See Areas Published. 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.Margin of error (MOE) values of -555555555 in the API (or "*****" (five asterisks) on data.census.gov) are displayed as 0 in this dataset. The estimates associated with these MOEs have been controlled to independent counts in the ACS weighting and have zero sampling error. So, the MOEs are effectively zeroes, and are treated as zeroes in MOE calculations. Other negative values on the API, such as -222222222, -666666666, -888888888, and -999999999, all represent estimates or MOEs that can't be calculated or can't be published, usually due to small sample sizes. All of these are rendered in this dataset as null (blank) values.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People of All Ages in Poverty for Los Angeles County, CA (PPAACA06037A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Los Angeles County, CA; Los Angeles; CA; percent; child; poverty; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Percent of People of All Ages in Poverty for California (PPAACA06000A156NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about CA, percent, child, poverty, and USA.

United States US: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 1.200 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.000 % for 2013. United States US: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.700 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.200 % in 2016 and a record low of 0.500 % in 1991. United States US: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 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.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.