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 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: 2023 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.

**U.S. Census Bureau Poverty Thresholds, 2023**
Size of family unit	Related children under 18 years
Size of family unit	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

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). Poverty Thresholds 2023.

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.

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.

**U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines, 2024**
	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.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 89, No. 11, January 17, 2024, pp. 2961–2963.

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 2024 notice reflect the 4.1 percent price increase between calendar years 2022 and 2023. After this inflation adjustment, the guidelines are rounded and adjusted to standardize the differences between family sizes. As in prior years, these 2024 guidelines are roughly equal to the poverty thresholds for calendar year 2023 which the Census Bureau expects to publish in final form in September 2024.

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

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.