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Change Indicator

Children in extreme poverty by race and ethnicity in United States

Children in extreme poverty by race and ethnicity

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Definition and Source

PROVIDER

Definition

The share of children under age 18 who live in families with incomes less than 50% of the federal poverty level by race and ethnicity.

The federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on family size and composition. In 2021, a 50% poverty threshold for a family of two adults and two children was $13,739. Poverty status is not determined for people in military barracks, institutional quarters, or for unrelated individuals under age 15 (such as foster children).

Data Source

Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 American Community Survey.

Notes

Updated November 2022.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. 
N.A. – Data not available. 
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in extreme poverty by race and ethnicity.

Last Updated

December 2022