Children (2005–2024)

Definition

Children under age 18 who live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level by age group and race/ethnicity.

The
federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on
family size and composition. For 2024, the poverty threshold for a family of 4 with two children was $31,812. Poverty status is not determined for people
in military barracks, institutional quarters, or for unrelated
individuals under age 15 (such as foster children).  The data are based
on income received in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Data Source

PRB analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey table B17001.

Notes

S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points.

N.A. - Data not available.

Beginning in 2020, any comparisons to prior estimates by race and ethnicity should be made with caution. Differences may be the result of demographic changes and/or differences in question wording, race reporting, or coding updates. For more information, visit the ACS Race User Note: Improvements to the Race Question.

A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at
Children in poverty by age group and race and ethnicity.

Last Updated

2025-09