End of Pandemic-Era Benefits Resulted in Higher Three-Year Supplemental Poverty Rates From 2022 to 2024 Compared to the Official Poverty Rate
The national official poverty rate of 10.6% was 2.3 percentage points lower than the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) of 12.9% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Poverty in the United States: 2024 report released today.
The official rate used in this analysis includes unrelated individuals under age 15 to enable direct comparisons with the SPM (referred to as official+ throughout the rest of this article).
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the three-year average SPM rate (12.7%) topped the official+ rate (11.1%) from 2022 to 2024. The official+ rate used in this analysis includes unrelated individuals under age 15 to enable direct comparisons with the SPM.
Unlike the official poverty measure, the SPM also considers geographic variation in housing costs and tenure (whether one rents or owns their home with or without a mortgage) when calculating poverty thresholds.
An analysis of three-year averages of poverty rates by state shows the official+ rate was higher than the SPM rate in only 10 states — a notable change from 2023 when the three-year official+ average topped the SPM rate in 32 states.
This is largely due to the expiration of pandemic-era tax and noncash benefit program expansions, marking a return to pre-pandemic norms.
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, federal and state taxes, and necessary expenses — factors the official measure excludes.
Unlike the official poverty measure, the SPM also considers geographic variation in housing costs and tenure (whether one rents or owns their home with or without a mortgage) when calculating poverty thresholds.
Poverty Rates by State
The Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) is the official source of national poverty estimates. CPS ASEC asks respondents about income and poverty during the previous calendar year.
To create state-level estimates, the Census Bureau recommends using three-year averages for additional statistical reliability. The three-year average national SPM rate was 12.7% and the three-year average official+ rate was 11.1% from 2022 to 2024.
Figure 1 details the three-year average poverty rates of each state from 2022 to 2024 for the SPM and the official+ poverty measure.
Utah was among the states with the lowest official+ poverty rate (6.6%) and Louisiana was among the highest (19.4%).
Maine had one of the nation’s lowest SPM poverty rates (6.7%) and California one of the highest (17.7%).
More official+ and SPM rates by states and by major age categories can be found in today’s release.
Figure 2 maps the differences between the two measures.
SPM rates may differ from official+ poverty rates for several reasons, from differences in housing costs and program benefits to differences in taxes or medical expenses.
The official+ poverty rate exceeded the SPM rate in 10 states: Alabama, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia had a higher SPM rate than the official+ poverty rate: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
The rates in 20 states were not statistically different: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
About the Report
Poverty in the United States: 2024 and the accompanying data tables provide more details on the impacts of policies and programs on the SPM rate.
The technical documentation page includes information on confidentiality protection, methodology, sampling and nonsampling error. All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and are statistically significant at the 90% confidence level unless otherwise noted.
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