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.

How Age and Poverty Level Impact Health Insurance Coverage

The family income-to-poverty ratio provides a measure of a family’s economic resources. This ratio compares family income to a poverty threshold based on the age and number of family members.

People are classified as being in poverty if their family income is less than the poverty threshold. Family resources may determine the ability to afford private health insurance, and families below certain thresholds may qualify for public health insurance, such as Medicaid.

Continue reading to learn more about health insurance coverage by age and income-to-poverty ratio.

Related Stories

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.

Supplemental Poverty Measure Below Official Poverty Rate in 32 States

Unlike the official poverty rate, the Supplemental Poverty Measure accounts for government assistance to low-income families.

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.

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

About America Counts

America Counts features stories on various topics including: 

• Families, Housing, Employment, Business, Education, Economy 
• Emergency Management, Health, Population, Income and Poverty

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