US Poverty Line

Extracted Attributes

• FPL Exceptions

  Alaska and Hawaii have higher FPLs

• 2022 SPM Increase

  4.6%

• Causes of Poverty

  Income inequality, inflation, unemployment, debt traps, poor education

• OPM Update Mechanism

  Updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)

• 2021 OPM Poverty Rate

  11.6%

• 2021 SPM Poverty Rate

  7.8%

• 2022 SPM Poverty Rate

  12.4%

• 2023 OPM Poverty Rate

  11% of the population

• Original OPM Methodology

  Based on cost of a food basket multiplied by three

• Primary Measuring Agency

  U.S. Census Bureau

• 2023 OPM Number of People in Poverty

  37 million Americans

• 2020 Extreme Poverty Rate (World Bank)

  0.25% of Americans (living on less than $2.15 per day in 2017 PPP dollars)

• Official Poverty Measure (OPM) Definition

  Based on cash income, excludes non-cash benefits

• 2021 OPM Poverty Threshold (Single Person)

  $13,800

• 2021 OPM Poverty Threshold (Family of Four)

  $27,700

• 2025 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) - 1 Person

  $15,650 (for 48 contiguous states)

• 2025 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) - 4 People

  $32,150 (for 48 contiguous states)

• Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) Definition

  Includes non-cash government assistance (e.g., SNAP, Medicaid), accounts for regional cost-of-living

Timeline

• The Official Poverty Measure's (OPM) original consumption patterns were based on this year. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1955-XX-XX

• The Official Poverty Measure (OPM) was introduced by the Census Bureau. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1960-01-01

• The Johnson administration's 'War on Poverty' initiative developed the original poverty thresholds. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1960-01-01

• Poverty alleviation efforts were implemented during the Great Recession. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2008-XX-XX

• The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) was introduced by the Census Bureau. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2011-XX-XX

• Poverty rates fell to some of the lowest levels ever recorded due to a record-long period of economic growth, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2019-XX-XX

• The World Bank reported that 0.25% of Americans lived below the international definition of extreme poverty. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2020-XX-XX

• Between May and October, approximately eight million people were pushed into poverty due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ending of funds from the CARES Act. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2020-05-01

• The OPM poverty rate was 11.6%, and the SPM poverty rate was 7.8%. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2021-XX-XX

• The SPM increased by 4.6% to 12.4%, resulting in around 15.3 million Americans falling into poverty due to the ending of pandemic stimulus payments and tax credits. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2022-XX-XX

• Poverty threshold levels for 2023 were issued by the U.S. Census Bureau. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2023-02-XX

• Under the OPM, 37 million Americans, or 11% of the population, were defined as living in poverty. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2023-XX-XX

• New Federal Poverty Levels (FPLs) are effective, updated and released by the Social Security Administration. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2025-01-01

Poverty in the United States

In the United States, poverty has both social and political implications. Based on poverty measures used by the Census Bureau (which exclude non-cash factors such as food stamps or medical care or public housing), America had 37 million people defined as living in poverty in 2023; this is 11 percent of the population. Some of the many causes include income, inequality, inflation, unemployment, debt traps and poor education. The majority of adults living in poverty are employed and have at least a high school education. Although the US is a relatively wealthy country by international standards, it has a persistently high poverty rate compared to other developed countries due in part to a less generous welfare system. Efforts to alleviate poverty include New Deal-era legislation during the Great Depression, to the national war on poverty in the 1960s and poverty alleviation efforts during the 2008 Great Recession. The federal government has two departments which measure poverty. Under the Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau has been reporting the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) since the 1960s, while the Department of Health and Human Services defines income levels for which people are eligible for governmental anti-poverty assistance. The OPM includes cash assistance from programs like Supplemental Security Income and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (welfare) as part of someone's income when reporting on how many people are in poverty. Since 2011 the Census Bureau has also been reporting a newer Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which includes non-cash anti-poverty government assistance like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) and Medicaid (health care for the poor), and also accounts for regional differences in the cost of living. The SPM is considered a more comprehensive estimate of poverty. For 2021, the percentage of Americans in poverty per the SPM was 7.8%, and per the OPM was 11.6%. By the OPM, the poverty threshold for 2021 for a single person was $13,800, and for a family of four was $27,700. In 2020, the World Bank reported that 0.25% of Americans lived below the international definition of extreme poverty, which is living on less than $2.15 per day in 2017 Purchasing Power Parity dollars. The SPM increased by 4.6% in 2022 to 12.4%, due to the ending of pandemic stimulus payments and tax credits, with around 15.3 million Americans falling into poverty over this time period according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The 2020 assessment by the U.S. Census Bureau showed the percentage of Americans living in poverty for 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) had fallen to some of the lowest levels ever recorded due to the record-long period of economic growth. However, between May and October 2020, some eight million people were put into poverty due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ending of funds from the CARES Act.

Web Search Results

• Federal Poverty Guidelines / Levels for 2025 & Their Relevance to ...

  The Federal Poverty Guidelines are federally set “poverty lines” that indicate the minimum amount of annual income that an individual / family needs to pay for essentials, such as housing, utilities, clothing, food, and transportation. These guidelines, also called Federal Poverty Levels (FPLs), are based on the size of a household and the state in which one resides. FPLs are the same in 48 of the 50 states. The two exceptions are Alaska and Hawaii, which have higher Federal Poverty Levels due [...] | | | --- | | Household/ Family Size | 2025 Federal Poverty Level for the 48 Contiguous States (Annual Income) | | 100% | 133% | 138% | 150% | 200% | 300% | 400% | | 1 | $15,650 | $20,815 | $21,597 | $23,475 | $31,300 | $46,950 | $62,600 | | 2 | $21,150 | $28,130 | $29,187 | $31,725 | $42,300 | $63,450 | $84,600 | | 3 | $26,650 | $35,445 | $36,777 | $39,975 | $53,300 | $79,950 | $106,600 | | 4 | $32,150 | $42,760 | $44,367 | $48,225 | $64,300 | $96,450 | $128,600 | [...] In 2025, the maximum FBR is $967 for a single individual and $1,450 for a married couple. These figures are updated and released by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Generally, they are released at the end of each year and are effective at the beginning of the new year in January. #### Importance of FPLs and FBRs to Medicaid Eligibility?

• Poverty in the United States

  > The official poverty line today is essentially what it takes in today's dollars, adjusted for inflation, to purchase the same poverty-line level of living that was appropriate to a half century ago, in 1955 .... Updated thereafter only for inflation, the poverty line lost all connection over time with current consumption patterns of the average family. Quite a few families then didn't have their own private telephone, or a car, or even a mixer in their kitchen... The official poverty line has [...] The Supplemental Poverty Measure, introduced in 2011, aims at providing a more accurate picture of the true extent of poverty in the United States by taking account of non-cash benefits and geographic variations. According to this new measure, 16% of Americans lived in poverty in 2011, compared with the official figure of 15.2%. With the new measure, one study estimated that nearly half of all Americans lived within 200% of the federal poverty line. [...] There have also been criticism of the methodology used to develop the U.S. poverty thresholds in the first place. The poverty thresholds used by the US government were originally developed during the Johnson administration's "Lyndon B. Johnson") war on poverty initiative in the early 1960s. The thresholds were based on the cost of a food basket at the time, multiplied by three, under the assumption that the average family spent one-third of its income on food.

• What Are Poverty Thresholds And Poverty Guidelines?

  Poverty threshold levels released for 2023 were issued by the U.S. Census Bureau in February 2023. It provides estimates of how many people experience poverty; the poverty rate, or percentage of people who are below the poverty threshold; and how poverty is distributed by age, race, ethnicity, region, and family type. The report also includes real median incomes and earnings, the level of income inequality, and poverty rates by sex. [...] # What Are Poverty Thresholds And Poverty Guidelines? Poverty thresholds and poverty guidelines are dollar amounts set by the U.S. government to indicate the least amount of income a person or family needs to meet their basic needs. People whose income falls below the specified amount are considered low income. [...] Poverty guidelines for the years since 1982 and other historical information are available at the HHS Office of the Assistance Secretary for Planning and Evaluation website. The 2024 poverty guideline values are shown in the table below. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines, 2024

• [PDF] 2025 Poverty Guidelines: 48 Contiguous States (all states except ...

  284,765.00 306,670.00 328,575.00 350,480.00 438,100.00 525,720.00 613,340.00 13 187,900.00 211,387.50 234,875.00 258,362.50 281,850.00 305,337.50 328,825.00 352,312.50 375,800.00 469,750.00 563,700.00 657,650.00 14 200,560.00 225,630.00 250,700.00 275,770.00 300,840.00 325,910.00 350,980.00 376,050.00 401,120.00 501,400.00 601,680.00 701,960.00 Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. [...] 245,227.50 272,475.00 299,722.50 326,970.00 354,217.50 381,465.00 408,712.50 435,960.00 544,950.00 653,940.00 762,930.00 Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. [...] 190,375.00 209,412.50 228,450.00 247,487.50 266,525.00 285,562.50 304,600.00 380,750.00 456,900.00 533,050.00 13 163,300.00 183,712.50 204,125.00 224,537.50 244,950.00 265,362.50 285,775.00 306,187.50 326,600.00 408,250.00 489,900.00 571,550.00 14 174,300.00 196,087.50 217,875.00 239,662.50 261,450.00 283,237.50 305,025.00 326,812.50 348,600.00 435,750.00 522,900.00 610,050.00 Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

• How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty

  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