Change Indicator

Children in extreme poverty in United States

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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.

The federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on family size and composition. In 2023, a 50% poverty threshold for a family of two adults and two children was $15,450. Poverty status is not determined for people in military barracks, institutional quarters, or for unrelated individuals under age 15 (such as foster children). The data are based on income received in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Data Source

PRB analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census Supplementary Survey & American Community Survey table B17024.

Notes

S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points.

N.A. – Data not available.

Data are provided for the 50 most populous cities according to the most recent Census counts. Cities for which data is collected may change over time. 

Use caution when comparing congressional districts over time. Congressional district boundaries may change between decennial censuses. Annual data for each congressional district refers to the boundaries for that district in that year.


A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in extreme poverty.

Last Updated

September 2024