This poverty rate data shows what percentage of the measured population* falls below the poverty line. Poverty is closely related to income: different “poverty thresholds” are in place for different sizes and types of household. A family or individual is considered to be below the poverty line if that family or individual’s income falls below their relevant poverty threshold. For more information on how poverty is measured by the U.S. Census Bureau (the source for this indicator’s data), visit the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty webpage.

The poverty rate is an important piece of information when evaluating an area’s economic health and well-being. The poverty rate can also be illustrative when considered in the contexts of other indicators and categories. As a piece of data, it is too important and too useful to omit from any indicator set.

The poverty rate for all individuals in the measured population in Champaign County has hovered around roughly 20% since 2005. However, it reached its lowest rate in 2021 at 14.9%, and its second lowest rate in 2023 at 16.3%. Although the American Community Survey (ACS) data shows fluctuations between years, given their margins of error, none of the differences between consecutive years’ estimates are statistically significant, making it impossible to identify a trend.

Poverty rate data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, which are released annually.

As with any datasets that are estimates rather than exact counts, it is important to take into account the margins of error (listed in the column beside each figure) when drawing conclusions from the data.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of providing the standard 1-year data products, the Census Bureau released experimental estimates from the 1-year data in 2020. This includes a limited number of data tables for the nation, states, and the District of Columbia. The Census Bureau states that the 2020 ACS 1-year experimental tables use an experimental estimation methodology and should not be compared with other ACS data. For these reasons, and because data is not available for Champaign County, no data for 2020 is included in this Indicator.

For interested data users, the 2020 ACS 1-Year Experimental data release includes a dataset on Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months by Age.

*According to the U.S. Census Bureau document “How Poverty is Calculated in the ACS," poverty status is calculated for everyone but those in the following groups: “people living in institutional group quarters (such as prisons or nursing homes), people in military barracks, people in college dormitories, living situations without conventional housing, and unrelated individuals under 15 years old."

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (17 October 2024).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (25 September 2023).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (16 September 2022).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (8 June 2021).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (8 June 2021).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (13 September 2018).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2016 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (14 September 2017).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (19 September 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2014 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2006 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2005 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).

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.

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.

This operations dashboard shows historic and current data related to this performance measure.The performance measure dashboard is available at 3.31 Poverty Rate. Data Dictionary

This dataset includes Tempe and Maricopa County annual poverty rates.This page provides data for the Poverty Rate performance measure.The performance measure dashboard is available at 3.31 Poverty Rate.Additional InformationSource: American Community Survey 5-year estimatesContact: Octavia HarrisContact E-Mail: Octavia_Harris@tempe.govData Source Type: ExcelPreparation Method: manuallyPublish Frequency: annuallyPublish Method: manuallyData Dictionary

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.

The Multidimensional Poverty Measure (MPM) seeks to understand poverty beyond just a monetary dimension by including access to education and basic infrastructure along with the monetary headcount ratio at the $1.90 poverty line. The World Bank’s measure takes inspiration and guidance from other prominent multidimensional measures, particularly the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by UNDP and Oxford University but differs from them in one important aspect: it includes Monetary poverty (measured as having a daily consumption less than $1.90 in 2011 PPP) as one of the dimensions. While monetary poverty is strongly correlated with deprivations in other domains, this correlation is far from perfect. The Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020 (World Bank, 2020) report shows that over a third of those experiencing multidimensional poverty are not captured by the monetary headcount ratio, in line with the findings of the previous edition of the report (World Bank, 2018). A country’s MPM is at least as high as or higher than the monetary poverty, reflecting the additional role of nonmonetary dimensions in increasing multidimensional poverty and their importance to general well-being.

Analysis of ‘3.31 Poverty Rate (summary)’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/818c8c8a-81be-4bb9-a409-fbec9860cd4c on 11 February 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

This dataset includes Tempe and Maricopa County annual poverty rates.

This page provides data for the Poverty Rate performance measure.

The performance measure dashboard is available at 3.31 Poverty Rate.

Additional Information

Source: American Community Survey 5-year estimates

Contact: Octavia Harris

Contact E-Mail: Octavia_Harris@tempe.gov

Data Source Type: Excel

Preparation Method: manually

Publish Frequency: annually

Publish Method: manually

Data Dictionary

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Abstract

The most recent estimate of monetary poverty in Armenia found that nearly 30 percent of the population lives below the national poverty threshold. However, because the Armenian social protection system provides some, though limited, basic support, monetary measures provide only a partial picture of the negative effects of poverty on well-being and the lack of positive capabilities.

In 2013, the National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia and the World Bank began work on a national measure of multidimensional poverty to supplement the consumption poverty indicator. This measure, which was identified through consultations with many stakeholders in Armenia, reflects deprivations specific to Armenia in the areas of education, health, labor, housing conditions, and basic needs. The approach offers insights into the complexity, depth, and persistence of poverty in the country; tailoring it specifically to the country context enhances its relevance for policy.

The national measure of multidimensional poverty for Armenia uses the Alkire-Foster approach.This tailored measure is not intended to be used in international comparisons; it is simply representative of the country and its specific development challenges. For every multidimensional measure, the dimensions, weights, and a method for aggregation must be selected.

The first step in constructing the measure of multidimensional poverty is to select dimensions that reflect achievements or deprivations. These indicators complement the national monetary poverty measure with information that better captures nonmonetary aspects of well-being. The primary dimensions of the measure are basic needs, housing, education, labor, and health.

The datasets documented here include 2010-2015 national multidimensional poverty indices, constructed using Armenia Integrated Living Conditions Survey (ILCS) data from 2010 to 2015.

Geographic coverage

National, urban-rural-Yerevan levels

Analysis unit

• household

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Each year Integrated Living Conditions Survey (ILCS) interviews more than 5,000 households; is representative at the regional level (marz level, which corresponds to the NUTS 3 regions); and provides comparable data starting from the early 2000s.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The Integrated Living Conditions Survey (ILCS) asks about education, labor market outcomes, health behavior, and living conditions of households and individuals. It also collects detailed data on consumption behavior and is used to calculate Armenia's official poverty rate. Since the measure of multidimensional poverty is meant to complement the analysis of consumption poverty, using the same survey instrument is crucial. On the other hand, a serious drawback of using existing rather than new data-constructing the measure on multidimensional poverty is limited by the ILCS information available.

This measure answers the question of what number and percentage of residents are living below the federal poverty level, which means they meet certain threshold set by a set of parameters and computation performed by the Census Bureau. Following the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Statistical Policy Directive 14, the Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is in poverty. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered in poverty. The official poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). 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). Data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Communities Survey (1yr), Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months (Table S1701). American Communities Survey (ACS) is a survey with sampled statistics on the citywide level and is subject to a margin of error. ACS sample size and data quality measures can be found on the U.S. Census website in the Methodology section.

The IPUMS Contextual Determinants of Health (CDOH) data series includes measures of disparities, policies, and counts, by state or county, for historically marginalized populations in the United States including Black, Asian, Hispanic/Latina/o/e/x, and LGBTQ+ persons, and women. The IPUMS CDOH data are made available through ICPSR/DSDR for merging with the National Couples' Health and Time Study (NCHAT), United States, 2020-2021 (ICPSR 38417) by approved restricted data researchers. All other researchers can access the IPUMS CDOH data via the IPUMS CDOH website. Unlike other IPUMS products, the CDOH data are organized into multiple categories related to Race and Ethnicity, Sexual and Gender Minority, Gender, and Politics. The CDOH measures were created from a wide variety of data sources (e.g., IPUMS NHGIS, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Movement Advancement Project, and Myers Abortion Facility Database). Measures are currently available for states or counties from approximately 2015 to 2020. The Gender measures in this release include the state-level poverty ratio, which compares the proportion of females living in poverty to the proportion of males living in poverty in a given state in a given year. To work with the IPUMS CDOH data, researchers will need to first merge the NCHAT data to DS1 (MATCH ID and State FIPS Data). This merged file can then be linked to the IPUMS CDOH datafile (DS2) using the STATEFIPS variable.

American Community Survey Public Use Micro Sample, augmented by NYC Opportunity.

This file contains poverty rates and related data from the NYCgov poverty measure data. The NYCgov poverty measure is generated annually by the poverty research unit of the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity). The data is derived from the American Community Survey Public Use Microsample for NYC, augmented by NYC Opportunity to include imputed estimates for benefit participation and some household expenditures. For information on how the NYCgov poverty rate is constructed see http://www1.nyc.gov/site/opportunity/poverty-in-nyc/poverty-measure.page.

DISCLAIMER: Do not use the visualization tool with this data set. This data set is unweighted. See “Read Me” page in data dictionary for correct use of person and household weights. Visualizations generated from this file will result in incorrect distributions of the data.

For the list of all NYCgov Poverty Measure Data datasets available on the portal please use this link.

The international poverty rate in Ghana as of 2021 was forecast at 11.3 percent, considering the 2011 poverty line set at 1.90 U.S. dollars. The same rate was forecast for 2022, which represented a slight increase compared to 2019, when the poverty rate was measured at 11.1 percent. Overall, no significant change in the population’s percentage living on up to 1.90 U.S. dollars per day was expected in the years following 2019. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact on economic activities have contributed to the slowly-improving poverty levels registered in the country since that year.

American Community Survey Public Use Micro Sample, augmented by NYC Opportunity.

This file contains poverty rates and related data from the NYCgov poverty measure data. The NYCgov poverty measure is generated annually by the poverty research unit of the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity). The data is derived from the American Community Survey Public Use Microsample for NYC, augmented by NYC Opportunity to include imputed estimates for benefit participation and some household expenditures. For information on how the NYCgov poverty rate is constructed see http://www1.nyc.gov/site/opportunity/poverty-in-nyc/poverty-measure.page.

DISCLAIMER: Do not use the visualization tool with this data set. This data set is unweighted. See “Read Me” page in data dictionary for correct use of person and household weights. Visualizations generated from this file will result in incorrect distributions of the data.

For the list of all NYCgov Poverty Measure Data datasets available on the portal please use this link.

This page provides information for the Poverty Rate performance measure.

This web map provides estimates for the percentage of persons living below 150% of the poverty level from the American Community Survey 5-year data for the United States—50 states and the District of Columbia at county, place, census tract, and ZCTA-levels. Data were downloaded from data.census.gov using Census API and processed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. Year: 2017–2021 ACS table(s): S1701 Data downloaded from: Census Bureau’s API for American Community Survey Date of API call: September 12, 2023 For questions or feedback send an email to places@cdc.gov.

merican Community Survey Public Use Micro Sample, augmented by NYC Opportunity.

This file contains poverty rates and related data from the NYCgov poverty measure data. The NYCgov poverty measure is generated annually by the poverty research unit of the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity). The data is derived from the American Community Survey Public Use Microsample for NYC, augmented by NYC Opportunity to include imputed estimates for benefit participation and some household expenditures. For information on how the NYCgov poverty rate is constructed see http://www1.nyc.gov/site/opportunity/poverty-in-nyc/poverty-measure.page.

DISCLAIMER: Do not use the visualization tool with this data set. This data set is unweighted. See “Read Me” page in data dictionary for correct use of person and household weights. Visualizations generated from this file will result in incorrect distributions of the data.

For the list of all NYCgov Poverty Measure Data datasets available on the portal please use this link.

Living Conditions Survey (LCS): At-risk-of-poverty rate, by consumption unit and household size. Annual. National.

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.

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.