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.

Both poverty thresholds and poverty guidelines are based on the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) established by the U.S. Census Bureau. See “How Is Poverty Measured” to learn more about the OPM as well as various other poverty measures.

Both the poverty thresholds and the poverty guidelines are the same for all mainland states, regardless of regional differences in the cost of living. Both are updated annually for price changes using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Poverty FAQs

Poverty Thresholds

The Census Bureau uses poverty thresholds as part of the Official Poverty Measure to estimate the population’s income and poverty levels and related information. These statistics are released in an annual report for the year and over time. The Census Bureau also makes the data available online after removing information that could be used to identify individuals.

Poverty threshold levels for 2024 were issued by the U.S. Census Bureau in late 2025. 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.

In addition to the annual poverty report, the Census Bureau also releases information on poverty and related information for states, counties, and other geographic divisions in annual reports also based on poverty thresholds.

What are the current poverty thresholds?

The Census Bureau’s website has the OPM thresholds for all years since 1980. The table below shows the most recent values of the OPM’s thresholds.

Poverty Thresholds by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years Old: 2024 (in dollars)

	Related children under 18 years old
Size of family unit	None	One	Two	Three	Four	Five	Six	Seven	Eight or more
One person (unrelated individual):
Under 65 years	16,320
65 years and over	15,045
Two people:
Householder under 65 years	21,006	21,621
Householder 65 years and over	18,961	21,540
Three people	24,537	25,249	25,273
Four people	32,355	32,884	31,812	31,992
Five people	39,019	39,586	38,374	37,436	36,863
Six people	44,879	45,057	44,128	43,238	41,915	41,131
Seven people	51,638	51,961	50,849	50,075	48,631	46,948	45,100
Eight people	57,753	58,263	57,215	56,296	54,992	53,337	51,614	51,177
Nine people or more	69,473	69,810	68,882	68,102	66,822	65,062	63,469	63,075	60,645

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2025, September). Poverty in the United States: 2024. Current Population Reports, p. 17.

Poverty Guidelines

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sets the poverty guidelines. The guidelines are a simpler version of the thresholds set with the Official Poverty Measure, mostly used by federal agencies to determine eligibility for public programs such as food assistance.

When using the poverty guidelines to determine eligibility, some programs use a percentage multiple of the guidelines, such as 125%, 150%, or 185%. The federal government urges potential participants to ask the appropriate managing agency for the most accurate guidelines.

Some examples of federal programs that use the poverty guidelines in determining eligibility include the following:

Department of Health and Human Services: Community Services Block Grant, Head Start, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Department of Agriculture: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program), National School Lunch Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program
Department of Energy: Weatherization Assistance for Low-Income Persons
Department of Labor: Job Corps, National Farmworker Jobs Program, Workforce Investment Act Youth Activities

Major means-tested programs (programs for which eligibility is based on income level) not using poverty guidelines to determine eligibility include Supplemental Security Income and the Social Services Block Grant.

Some state and local governments use the federal poverty guidelines in some of their programs and activities, such as financial guidelines for child support enforcement and eligibility for cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Some private companies such as utilities and telephone companies have also adopted the guidelines in setting eligibility for their services to low-income persons.

What are the current poverty guidelines?

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 2026 poverty guideline values are shown in the table below.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines, 2026.

	Annual Income
Persons in Family/Household	48 Contiguous States and District of Columbia	Alaska	Hawaii
1	$15,960	$19,950	$18,360
2	$21,640	$27,050	$24,890
3	$27,320	$34,150	$31,420
4	$33,000	$41,250	$37,950
5	$38,680	$48,350	$44,480
6	$44,360	$55,450	$51,010
7	$50,040	$62,550	$57,540
8	$55,720	$69,650	$64,070
>8 persons	Add $5,680 for each additional person.	Add $7,100 for each additional person.	Add $6,530 for each additional person.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 10, January 15, 2026: pp. 1797-1798. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-15/pdf/2026-00755.pdf
Notes: Section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to update the poverty guidelines at least annually, adjusting them on the basis of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI–U). As required by law, this update is accomplished by increasing the latest published Census Bureau poverty thresholds by the relevant percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI–U). The guidelines in this 2026 notice reflect the 2.63% price increase between calendar years 2024 and 2025. After adjusting for inflation, the guidelines are rounded and standardized to establish the same interval between family sizes. As in prior years, the 2026 guidelines are roughly equal to the poverty thresholds for calendar year 2025 which the Census Bureau expects to publish in final form in September 2026.

Key Differences Between Poverty Thresholds and Poverty Guidelines

	Poverty Thresholds	Poverty Guidelines
Issuing Agency	Census Bureau	Department of Health and Human Services
Purpose/Use	Statistical — calculating the number of U.S. Americans in poverty each year	Administrative — determining financial eligibility for certain programs
Characteristics by Which They Vary	Detailed (48-cell) matrix of thresholds varies by family size, number of children, and, for 1- & 2-person units, whether or not elderly. Weighted average thresholds vary by family size and, for 1- & 2-person units, whether or not elderly. There is no geographic variation; the same figures are used for all 50 states and Washington, D.C.	Guidelines vary by family size. In addition, there is one set of figures for the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C.; one set for Alaska; and one set for Hawaii.
Timing of Annual Update	The Census Bureau issues preliminary poverty thresholds in January, and final poverty thresholds in September of the year after the year for which poverty is measured. The poverty thresholds are adjusted to the price level of the year for which poverty is measured. For example, the poverty thresholds for calendar year 2020 were issued in 2021 (preliminary in January, final in September), were used to measure poverty for calendar year 2020, and reflect the price level of calendar year 2020.	HHS issues poverty guidelines in late January of each year. Some programs make them effective on date of publication, others at a later date. For example, the 2021 poverty guidelines were issued in January 2021, calculated from the calendar year 2019 thresholds issued in September 2020, updated to reflect the price level of calendar year 2020. Therefore, the 2021 poverty guidelines are approximately equal to the poverty thresholds for 2020 (for most family sizes).
How Updated or Calculated	The 48-cell matrix is updated each year from the 1978 threshold matrix using the CPI-U. The preliminary weighted average thresholds are updated from the previous year’s final weighted average thresholds using the CPI-U. The final weighted average thresholds are calculated from the current year’s 48-cell matrix using family weighting figures from the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement.	Guidelines are updated from the latest published (final) weighted average poverty thresholds using the CPI-U. (Figures are rounded, and differences between adjacent-family-size figures are equalized.)
Rounding	Rounded to the nearest dollar	Rounded to various multiples of $10 – may end only in zero

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Frequently Asked Questions Related to the Poverty Guidelines and Poverty.
Note: CPI-U = Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.