America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers

📖 Learn more about the findings from three new reports on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States in new America Counts stories from earlier this week.

Supplemental Poverty Measure Below Official Poverty Rate in 32 States

The two poverty measures provide distinct indicators of U.S. economic well-being.

The SPM broadens the official poverty measure by accounting for government programs designed to assist low-income families that are not included in the official poverty measure while also including federal and state taxes and necessary expenses.

Continue reading to learn more about the national and statewide SPM rates.

Related Stories

How Age and Poverty Level Impact Health Insurance Coverage

The percentage of people without health insurance remained around 8% in 2023 but rates varied by age and poverty level, according to data released earlier this week.

Supplemental Poverty Measure Rose in 2023 for Second Consecutive Year

The SPM, which accounts for noncash government assistance, increased to 12.9% in 2023, higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Median Household Income Increased in 2023 for First Time Since 2019

Non-Hispanic White households were the only group with higher incomes in 2023. Asian household median income remained the highest among all groups.

News Release

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2023

The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday announced that real median household income increased by 4.0% between 2022 and 2023. This is the first statistically significant annual increase in real median household income since 2019. The official poverty rate fell 0.4 percentage points, to 11.1%, in 2023. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) rate in 2023 was 12.9%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from 2022.

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Related Links

• Report: Income in the United States: 2023
• Report: Poverty in the United States: 2023
• Report: Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2023
• America Counts (Spanish): La mediana de ingresos subió en el 2023, por primera vez desde el 2019
• Press Kit: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Statistics
• New Blog: How Updating Annual Poverty Thresholds Impacts Poverty Rates
• New Blog: Using Administrative Data to Evaluate Nonresponse Bias in the 2024 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement

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