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).
- Who experiences poverty?
- How is poverty measured?
- What are poverty thresholds and poverty guidelines?
- What is the consumer price index and how is it used?
- What are good sources of information on basic trends in poverty and related issues?
- What are good sources of demographic and socioeconomic information for states, counties, and cities?
Poverty Thresholds
The Census Bureau uses poverty thresholds as part of the OPM 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 released for 2023 were issued by the U.S. Census Bureau in February 2023. 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 Poverty in the United States: 2022 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.
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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.
| Size of family unit | Related children under 18 years | ||||||||
| None | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight or more | |
| One person (unrelated individual): | |||||||||
| Under 65 years | $15,852 | ||||||||
| 65 years and over | $14,614 | ||||||||
| Two people: | |||||||||
| Householder under 65 years | $20,404 | $21,002 | |||||||
| Householder 65 years and over | $18,418 | $20,923 | |||||||
| Three people | $23,834 | $24,526 | $24,549 | ||||||
| Four people | $31,428 | $31,942 | $30,900 | $31,008 | |||||
| Five people | $37,901 | $38,452 | $37,275 | $36,363 | $35,807 | ||||
| Six people | $43,593 | $43,766 | $42,864 | $41,999 | $40,714 | $39,952 | |||
| Seven people | $50,159 | $50,472 | $49,393 | $48,640 | $47,238 | $45,602 | $43,808 | ||
| Eight people | $56,099 | $56,594 | $55,575 | $54,683 | $53,416 | $51,809 | $50,136 | $49,710 | |
| Nine people or more | $67,483 | $67,810 | $66,908 | $66,151 | $64,908 | $63,198 | $61,651 | $61,268 | $58,907 |
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 OPM, 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.
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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 2024 poverty guideline values are shown in the table below.
| Annual Income | |||
| Persons in Family/Household | 48 Contiguous States and District of Columbia | Alaska | Hawaii |
| 1 | $15,060 | $18,810 | $17,310 |
| 2 | $20,440 | $25,540 | $23,500 |
| 3 | $25,820 | $32,270 | $29,690 |
| 4 | $31,200 | $39,000 | $35,880 |
| 5 | $36,580 | $45,730 | $42,070 |
| 6 | $41,960 | $52,460 | $48,260 |
| 7 | $47,340 | $59,190 | $54,450 |
| 8 | $52,720 | $65,920 | $60,640 |
| >8 persons | Add $5,380 for each additional person. | Add $6,730 for each additional person. | Add $6,190 for each additional person. |
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 people in poverty | 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 D.C. | Guidelines vary by family size. In addition, there is one set of figures for the 48 contiguous states and 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 |