Poverty in the United States in 2014: In Brief

Summary

In 2014, approximately 46.7 million people, or 14.8% of the population, had incomes that fell below the official definition of poverty in the United States. Neither the number of people in poverty, nor the poverty rate (the percentage that were in poverty), had changed discernably from the previous year.

In this brief, the numbers and percentages of those in poverty are based on the Census Bureau’s estimates. While the official measure is regarded as a statistical yardstick rather than as a complete description of what people and families need to live, it does offer a measure of economic hardship faced by the low-income population. The Census Bureau releases these poverty estimates every September for the prior calendar year. Hence, most of the comparisons discussed below are year-to-year comparisons. However, in addition to the most recent year’s data, a historical perspective is provided. This brief will also present information on poverty for demographic groups (by family structure, age, race and Hispanic origin, and work status) and for states.

Over the past several decades, criticisms of the official measure have led to the development of an alternative research measure called the Supplemental Poverty Measure, or SPM, which the Census Bureau has also computed and released. Statistics comparing the official measure with the SPM are provided at the conclusion of this brief.