Explore the Data

Families in Poverty

Poverty for families with greater numbers of children has decreased over time

Rates of poverty increased for all families in 2021 and 2022, compared to 2019, and by 2023 had fallen below rates seen in 2019. Increased rates of poverty were seen for all families regardless of how many children were in the family. However, the number of children in a family is related to a higher likelihood of living in poverty.

• Families with no children had a poverty rate of 4.4% in 2023.
  • This rate is higher than in 2021 (2.8%) and 2022 (2.9%).
  • This is also an increase from 2019 (1.8%).
• Families with one or two children had a poverty rate of 7.2% in 2023.
  • This rate is a decrease from 2021 (12.0%) and 2022 (14.1%).
  • This is also lower than in 2019 (9.4%).
• Families with three or four children had a poverty rate of 6% in 2023.
  • This was a decrease from 2021 (13.1%) and 2022 (15.9%).
  • This is also lower than in 2019 (7.5%).
• The poverty rate for families with three or four children is currently lower than those with one or two children, which differs from the usual trend.

Notes

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, Table S1702.

Data can include very few families with five (5) or more children; this causes a large degree of fluctuation in estimated poverty rates for these families.

Estimates not provided for families with five or more children in several years due to low survey responses.