Children in poverty according to the supplemental poverty measure in United States
Children in poverty according to the supplemental poverty measure
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Why This Indicator Matters
Poverty has profound negative impacts on children’s health and well-being, particularly when they experience deep and persistent poverty. The effects of economic hardship can disrupt children’s cognitive development, physical and mental health, educational success and other lifelong outcomes.
While the official poverty measure is based on pretax cash income, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) accounts for a broader range of family resources, such as noncash benefits (e.g., food and housing assistance) and tax credits. It also factors in necessary household expenses and regional variation in cost of living. By accounting for safety net benefits, the SPM provides an important opportunity to gauge the effectiveness of government anti-poverty interventions.
Read about what the 2021 SPM data revealed.
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
Data Source
PRB analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
Notes
Due to an error in the tax model, all 2018 SPM estimates were revised.
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in poverty according to the supplemental poverty measure.Last Updated