Poverty Facts: The Population of Poverty USA

Poverty Facts

The Population of Poverty USA

In 2014, 47 million people lived in Poverty USA. That means the poverty rate for 2014 was 15%.

The 2014 poverty rate was 2.3 percentage points higher than in 2007, the year before the 2008 recession.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the number of people in poverty has remained unchanged from the previous year’s poverty estimate.

Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014, U.S. Census Bureau; Income and Poverty in the United States: 2014, U.S. Census Bureau

All those who make less than the Federal government’s official poverty threshold. . . which for a family of four is $24,00.00. People working at minimum wage, even holding down several jobs. Seniors living on fixed incomes. Wage earners suddenly out of work. Millions of families everywhere from our cities to rural communities.

Poverty does not strike all demographics equally. For example, in 2014, 13% of men lived in Poverty USA, and 16% of women lived in poverty. Along the same lines, the poverty rate for married couples in 2014 was only 6%–but the poverty rate for single-parent families with no wife present was up to 16%, and for single-parent families with no husband present 31%.

And though poverty is often perceived as a problem of urban environments and inner cities, the poverty rate in metropolitan areas (15%) is actually lower than the poverty rate for people outside of metropolitan areas (17%).

In 2014, the poverty rate for people living with a disability was 29%. That’s more than 4 million people living with a disability—in poverty.

To learn about poverty rates by state and county, and detailed poverty rates for varying demographics, visit the Interactive Poverty Map.

In 2014, 21% of all children (15.5 million kids) lived in Poverty USA—that’s about 1 in every 5 children.

In 2012, the National Center on Family Homelessness analyzed state-level data and found that nationwide, 1.6 million children experience homelessness in a year.

Luckily, there are programs that help. The National School Lunch Program provides low- or no-cost meals to impoverished children. In 2012 alone, the program served subsidized lunches to more than 31.6 million children–and has served 224 billion lunches since its founding in 1946.

View the Interactive Poverty Map to find out what the child poverty rate is in your state, or states around you.

Sources: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014, U.S. Census Bureau; National Center for Family Homelessness; USDS Food and Nutrition Services, 2014

Though the official census data gives seniors a 2014 poverty rate of only 10%, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which accounts for expenses such as the rising costs of health care, raises the senior poverty rate to an astounding 14%.

View the Interactive Poverty Map to find out what the senior poverty rate is in your state, or states around you.

Sources: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014, U.S. Census Bureau; The Research Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2014, US Census Bureau

Poverty by Ethnicity

According to 2014 US Census Data, the highest poverty rate by race is found among Blacks (26%), with Hispanics (of any race) having the second highest poverty rate (24%). Whites had a poverty rate of 10%, while Asians had a poverty rate at 12%.

Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014, U.S. Census Bureau

Poverty thresholds are determined by the US government, and vary according to the size of a family, and ages of the members. In 2014, the poverty threshold—known more commonly as the poverty line—for an individual was $12,000. For two people, the weighted average threshold was $15,000.

Three people: $19,000

For more details about poverty thresholds, visit the US Census Bureau. Poverty thresholds are intended for use as a statistical yardstick, not a complete description of what people and/or families actually need to live.

What’s worse, 7% of the population—or 21 million people—live in deep poverty, with incomes at only 50% of their poverty thresholds.

And 33% of the population—or 105 million—live close to poverty, with incomes less than two times that of their poverty thresholds.

To learn more about poverty thresholds and what it is like to live at the poverty line, take a tour of Poverty USA.

Sources: How the U.S. Census Measures Poverty, U.S. Census Bureau; Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014, U.S. Census Bureau

2014 Median household income was not different from the 2013 median income, and it was  7% lower than 2007. In 2014, the median income for family households was $68,000, while the median income for nonfamily households was $32,000.

In 2014, an estimated 74% of men with earnings and 61% of women with earnings worked full time, year round. However, in 2014, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round were only 79% of that for men working full time, year-round.

Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2014, U.S. Census Bureau

In 2014, the USDA estimated that 14% (or 17 million) of US households were food insecure—meaning that they had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. Rates of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national average for households with incomes near or below the Federal poverty line.

Again, there are programs that help. 61% of food-insecure households in the survey reported that in the previous month, they had participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs, such as SNAP (food stamps).Learn more about SNAP and other important programs in the Policies that Help section.

Source: USDA, 2015