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Poverty

Poverty

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Within Poverty

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Poverty

The Census Bureau provides poverty data from several household surveys and programs. Here you can find poverty estimates, learn about these surveys and programs, and get guidance on how to choose the right estimate for your needs.

Featured

Table

Poverty Rates by Survey

November 2024

Poverty rates for all people and by major age groups for the CPS ASEC, the ACS, and the SIPP.
Publication

Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023

September 12, 2024

This brief uses the 2022 and 2023 American Community Surveys 1-year estimates to analyze poverty rates for states, metropolitan areas, and the nation.
Publication

Poverty in the United States: 2023

September 10, 2024

This report presents data on poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2024 and earlier CPS ASEC.
Table

Poverty Thresholds

Poverty Thresholds by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years Source: Current Population Survey (CPS)
Guidance for Poverty Data Users

Get more background on each survey or program, the difference between them, and how to choose the right data source for your needs.

News

Press Release

El Censo publica estadísticas sobre ingresos, pobreza y seguro médico

July 15, 2025

La Oficina del Censo publica el cronograma de estadísticas sobre ingresos, pobreza y seguro médico, y las estimaciones de la ACS.
Press Release

Schedule for Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Statistics

July 15, 2025

The U.S. Census Bureau is set to release the 2024 Income, Poverty and Health Insurance statistics from the CPS ASEC and the ACS in September.
Press Release

Census Bureau Releases New Estimates From the NEWS Project

July 14, 2025

The U.S. Census Bureau today released new estimates from its National Experimental Well-Being Statistics (NEWS) project.

Publications

Publication

Monthly and Episodic Poverty: 2023

July 18, 2025

This brief uses the 2024 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to analyze monthly and episodic poverty rates in 2023.
Publication

Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023

September 12, 2024

This brief uses the 2022 and 2023 American Community Surveys 1-year estimates to analyze poverty rates for states, metropolitan areas, and the nation.
Publication

Poverty in the United States: 2023

September 10, 2024

This report presents data on poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2024 and earlier CPS ASEC.

Data

Table

Poverty Rates by Survey

November 2024

Poverty rates for all people and by major age groups for the CPS ASEC, the ACS, and the SIPP.
Table

Poverty in the United States: 2023

September 10, 2024

These tables present data on poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2023 and earlier CPS ASEC.
Table

Corrected Annual and Monthly SIPP Poverty Rates: 2014-2022

February 2024

These tables provide the annual and monthly poverty rates for the 2014-2022 SIPP following the implementation of a post-hoc correction.

Working Papers

Working Paper

The Relationship Between the Population Experiencing Homelessness and Living in Shelters and Poverty

July 2025

This paper addresses how the sheltered and household populations differ by poverty status.
Working Paper

The Inclusion of the Incarcerated Population in Income and Poverty Estimates in the ACS

June 2025

This paper examines the effect of including data on the incarcerated population in income and poverty estimates.
Working Paper

Technical Documentation of Intermediate Tables for Improved Imputation

January 2025

This technical documentation describes a new data release that will aid users of the CPS ASEC tax variables.

All Subtopics Within 'Income and Poverty'

Income

Census money income is defined as income received on a regular basis before payments for taxes, social security, etc. and does not reflect noncash benefits.
Income Inequality

Income inequality is the extent to which income is distributed unevenly among a population.
Poverty

If a family's total income is less than the official poverty threshold for a family of that size and composition, then they are considered to be in poverty.
Program Income and Public Assistance

Public assistance refers to assistance programs that provide either cash or in-kind benefits to individuals and families from any governmental entity.
Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates (SAIPE)

The Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program provides more current estimates for the administration and allocation of federal programs and funds.
Supplemental Poverty Measure

In 2009, the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) created a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to replace previous experimental poverty measures.
Wealth and Asset Ownership

Household net worth or wealth is an important defining factor of economic well-being - it can become an additional source of income in hard times or retirement.
Well-Being

Factors that contribute to well-being include income, possession of consumer durables, housing and neighborhood conditions, and the meeting of basic needs.