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    US poverty rate 2025 explained: official 10.2%, supplemental 13.1%

    The Census Bureau reported on 15 September 2026 that the official US poverty rate fell to 10.2% in 2025, or 34.5 million people, and child poverty hit a record low of 13.4%.[1][2][3] The Supplemental Poverty Measure, which counts taxes, tax credits and noncash benefits, was unchanged at 13.1%.[4]

    Editor reviewedStrict sourcingUpdated ExplainerSocial welfare, Tech policy

    The Census Bureau’s annual poverty report gives two numbers: the official US poverty rate and the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), both from the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement.[1] The 2025 figures, released on 15 September 2026, show the two measures moving apart.[2][4] This page explains the numbers and the debate over what comes next. It is general information, not financial advice.

    The 2025 numbers

    The official poverty rate fell from 10.7% to 10.2%, and 1.5 million fewer people were counted as poor, 34.5 million in all.[2] Poverty among children fell to 13.4%, the lowest on record.[3] On the broader SPM, 13.1% of people were poor, about the same as in 2024.[4] For a family of two adults and two children, the official poverty line was $32,649 a year.[5]

    On the official+ basis (the official measure on the SPM universe), the 2025 rate was 10.2% against an SPM rate of 13.1%, a 2.9-point gap.[4] By age, SPM and official+ child rates converged at 13.4%. For adults aged 18 to 64 the SPM rate was 12.3% (official+ 9.2%), and for people 65 and older it was 15.4% (official+ 9.8%). Census attributes the large gap for older adults mainly to medical expenses, which the SPM subtracts.[6][7] The Hispanic official poverty rate fell 1.2 points to a record low of 13.9%.[3]

    Why two measures

    The official measure, created in the 1960s, looks only at cash income before taxes. It does not count food aid, housing help or tax credits.[8] The SPM counts those, takes out taxes, work costs and medical bills, and allows for local housing costs.[9] Neither measure decides who gets benefits; the SPM is used for research.[9]

    Official thresholds rise each year with the CPI-U. SPM thresholds are built from five years of Consumer Expenditure Survey spending on food, clothing, shelter and utilities.[10] In 2025 SPM thresholds rose 4.4% to 6.3% depending on housing tenure, while CPI-U rose 2.6%.[10] PolicyEngine, a nonprofit modeller, recomputed the 2025 SPM with 2024 thresholds indexed only to CPI-U. It found a rate of 12.3%, which it reads as falling poverty against prices but flat poverty against the SPM’s spending-based standard.[11] CRS also warns that survey nonresponse biases rates down and benefit underreporting pushes the SPM up.[12]

    Which programmes move people out of poverty

    Social Security moved 28.8 million people out of SPM poverty in 2025, more than any other programme.[13] Refundable tax credits came second, at 6.1 million people, including 3.3 million children.[14] The Center for American Progress reads the same figures as showing SNAP lifted 3.1 million people.[15] On the other side of the ledger, medical expenses pushed 7.7 million people into poverty.[7]

    History shows how much policy matters to the SPM. CRS notes that pandemic-era SNAP expansions, stimulus checks and the expanded Child Tax Credit pushed the SPM below the official rate. After 2022, as those measures expired, it rose above it again.[16]

    The Child Tax Credit and the 2025 law

    For 2025 the Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per child, with a refundable portion of up to $1,700 for families with at least $2,500 in earnings.[17] Each child and the filer (or a spouse, if filing jointly) need a work-eligible Social Security number.[18] Census’s 2025 tax model reflects the larger maximum credit and the new senior deduction but not the new tip and overtime deductions.[19] Tax rules change and depend on income, so check with the IRS.

    Views on where poverty goes next differ. Progressive and anti-hunger groups, including the Center for American Progress and the Food Research & Action Center, expect hardship to rise as the 2025 law’s SNAP and Medicaid cuts take effect.[20] The law’s Republican authors argue its SNAP changes restore programme integrity and give states incentives to cut payment errors.[21][22] CAP notes that many of the law’s cuts did not take effect until late 2025, so the 2025 data largely predate them.[20] See the SNAP changes explainer and the Medicaid changes explainer.

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    Questions readers ask

    What was the US poverty rate in 2025?

    The official rate was 10.2%, down 0.5 points, with 34.5 million people in poverty. The Supplemental Poverty Measure was 13.1%, not statistically different from 2024.[2][4]

    What is the poverty line for a family of four?

    The 2025 official threshold for two adults and two children was $32,649; for a single person under 65 it was $16,749.[5]

    Why are there two poverty rates?

    The official measure counts only pretax cash income. The SPM adds tax credits and noncash benefits such as SNAP, subtracts taxes and work and medical costs, and adjusts for local housing costs. The SPM is a research measure, not used for eligibility.[8][9]

    Why did the official rate fall but the SPM not?

    The SPM thresholds rose 4.4% to 6.3% in 2025, faster than the 2.6% CPI-U inflation that drives official thresholds. PolicyEngine calculated the SPM would have been 12.3% had thresholds risen only with inflation.[10][11]

    How much does the Child Tax Credit reduce poverty?

    Census found refundable tax credits, the EITC and the refundable part of the Child Tax Credit, lifted 6.1 million people, including 3.3 million children, above the SPM line in 2025.[14]

    Sources

    · 22 claims from 7 publishers

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Tap a number in the text to see its sources in place.

    1. [1]

      The Census Bureau released "Poverty in the United States - 2025" on 15 September 2026, with estimates from the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure based on the 2026 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    2. [2]

      The official US poverty rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 10.2% in 2025, with 34.5 million people in poverty, down 1.5 million from 2024. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    3. [3]

      The official child poverty rate fell 1.0 percentage point to a historic low of 13.4% in 2025, and the rate for Hispanic people fell to a historic low of 13.9%. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    4. [4]

      The Supplemental Poverty Measure rate was 13.1% in 2025, not statistically different from 2024 and 2.9 percentage points above the comparable official rate. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    5. [5]

      The 2025 official poverty threshold was $16,749 for a single person under 65 and $32,649 for a family of two adults and two children. confirmedas of 2026-09-16

    6. [6]

      In 2025 the SPM rate was 13.4% for children (the same as the official+ rate), 12.3% for adults aged 18 to 64 and 15.4% for people 65 and older, against official+ rates of 9.2% and 9.8%. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    7. [7]

      Medical expenses pushed 7.7 million people into SPM poverty in 2025, raising the rate by 2.3 percentage points. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    8. [8]

      The official poverty measure compares pretax cash income with national thresholds that vary by family size and are updated for inflation; it excludes taxes, refundable tax credits and noncash benefits such as SNAP and housing subsidies. confirmedas of 2026-09-16

    9. [9]

      The Supplemental Poverty Measure, first published in 2011, counts taxes, refundable tax credits and noncash benefits, subtracts work and medical expenses, and adjusts thresholds for local housing costs; it is a research measure not used for program eligibility. confirmedas of 2026-09-16

    10. [10]

      SPM thresholds are based on five years of spending on food, clothing, shelter and utilities, while official thresholds rise with the CPI-U; in 2025 SPM thresholds rose 4.4% to 6.3% depending on housing tenure, against 2.6% CPI-U inflation. confirmedas of 2026-09-18

    11. [11]

      PolicyEngine calculated that with 2024 SPM thresholds grown only by CPI-U, the 2025 SPM rate would have been 12.3%, a 0.7-point fall, meaning threshold growth beyond inflation accounts for about 0.8 points of the published rate. reportedas of 2026-09-18· interpretation

    12. [12]

      CRS cautions that survey nonresponse tends to bias poverty rates down and underreporting of benefits can make the SPM overstate poverty, complicating comparisons over time. confirmedas of 2026-09-16

    13. [13]

      Social Security was the largest antipoverty program in 2025, moving 28.8 million people out of SPM poverty. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    14. [14]

      Refundable tax credits (the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable part of the Child Tax Credit) lifted 6.1 million people, including 3.3 million children, above the SPM poverty line in 2025. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    15. [15]

      CAP's reading of the Census figures is that SNAP lifted 3.1 million people out of SPM poverty in 2025, the third-largest effect after Social Security and refundable tax credits. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    16. [16]

      CRS notes that pandemic-era SNAP expansions, stimulus payments and the expanded Child Tax Credit pushed the SPM below the official rate; after 2022, as those policies expired, the SPM rose above the official rate again. confirmedas of 2026-09-16

    17. [17]

      For tax year 2025 the Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child, with a refundable portion (the Additional Child Tax Credit) of up to $1,700 for families with at least $2,500 of earned income. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    18. [18]

      To claim the Child Tax Credit, the taxpayer (or a spouse if filing jointly) and each qualifying child must have a work-eligible Social Security number issued before the return's due date. confirmedas of 2026-10-11

    19. [19]

      Census's 2025 tax model included the larger maximum Child Tax Credit and the new senior deduction from the 2025 tax law, but not the new tip and overtime deductions, because of data limits. confirmedas of 2026-09-15

    20. [20]

      Progressive and anti-hunger groups argue the 2025 reconciliation law will raise hardship; the Center for American Progress says poverty will likely rise as its health and food-assistance cuts take effect, and the Food Research & Action Center says millions will lose some or all SNAP benefits. reportedas of 2026-09-15· interpretation

    21. [21]

      Chairman Thompson said the reconciliation law restores "integrity to SNAP". confirmedas of 2025-07-03

    22. [22]

      House and Senate Agriculture Committee chairs Glenn Thompson and John Boozman argued that tying a cost share to error rates gives states "skin in the game" and an incentive to stop improper payments. confirmedas of 2025-06-30

    Revision history (1)
    1. Page created.

    Created Oct 11, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 11, 2026. Next scheduled review: Sep 15, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "US poverty rate 2025 explained: official 10.2%, supplemental 13.1%." ContentLora, updated Oct 11, 2026. https://contentlora.com/explain/us-poverty-rate-explained

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