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Official poverty rate fell to 10.6% in 2024

In 2024, the official U.S. poverty rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 10.6 percent — 35.9 million people — according to the Census Bureau’s annual poverty report.

The chart below places that annual rate on a longer official-poverty timeline.

Official U.S. poverty rate, selected years A line chart on a linear year scale showing the official U.S. poverty rate falling from 22.4% in 1959 to 10.6% in 2024, with selected decade points. 0% 8% 17% 25% 22.4 12.1 11.7 12.8 11.9 14.3 10.5 10.6 1959 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009 2019 2024
Official poverty rate: percent of people below official poverty thresholds. Selected years about every decade. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Poverty Tables, People (HSTPOV2), All races.

Related context: Poverty in the United States: 2024 (P60-287) and historical poverty people tables.

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Worth knowing

  • This is the official poverty measure (pretax money income vs national thresholds). The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) is a different metric; Census reported a Supplemental Poverty Measure rate of 12.9% in 2024, statistically unchanged from 2023.
  • Year-to-year changes can differ by race, age, and family type.
  • Historical Current Population Survey series have methodology notes for selected years.
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