The COVID-19 crisis is exacting a dual toll on youth and young adults, with education and employment opportunities severely disrupted. But even pre-pandemic, young people were in a precarious financial position. They were more likely to live below the poverty line compared to the general population and the only group to see their poverty rise over the last 50 years. Today, they are more likely to be living with, and financially supported by, their families than in the past and remain less likely to have independent access to safety net programs. Public policy that helps youth and young adults meet their basic needs, build their income, and enhance their opportunities can reduce poverty and strengthen economic security.

Policy Options to Address Youth and Young Adult Poverty

We explore the anti-poverty effects of federal policy options in the areas of basic needs, family tax, and economic opportunity. Anti-poverty effects are compared to what we term a ‘pre-American Rescue Plan’ baseline, but the poverty rates presented are not estimates of poverty in 2021. Rather, they are estimates of what youth and young adult poverty could have looked like in the years prior to the pandemic had these policies been in place.

• We assess the anti-poverty impact of policies by calculating SPM poverty rates and the number of youth and young adults moved out of poverty by state.

• We break out state-level results across three age groups: youth (ages 14 to 17), young adults (ages 18 to 24), and the whole youth and young adult population (ages 14 to 24).

• We also break out state-level results by racial and ethnic groups—of particular importance, as nearly half of the youth population today are youth of color.