Poverty in the 50 States

Long-Term Trends in Poverty and the Role of Social Policies

This chartbook presents the first estimates of state-level trends in poverty using a historical version of the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). The SPM provides a more accurate measure of poverty than the Official Poverty Measure (OPM), which has been in use since the 1960s. 

The chartbook includes a two-page fact sheet for each state that documents historical trends in poverty overall, as well as for children, working-aged adults, and the elderly. Each fact sheet also displays the effect of taxes and transfers on the poverty rate for these groups.

The state-level poverty estimates were calculated using the CPSP's historical SPM data set. This data set is publicly available.

Download State Fact Sheets

Alabama:
Factsheet | Data

Alaska:
Factsheet | Data

Arizona:
Factsheet | Data

Arkansas:
Factsheet | Data

California:
Factsheet | Data

Colorado:
Factsheet | Data

Connecticut:
Factsheet | Data

Delaware:
Factsheet | Data

Florida:
Factsheet | Data

Georgia:
Factsheet | Data

Hawaii:
Factsheet | Data

Idaho:
Factsheet | Data

Illinois:
Factsheet | Data

Indiana:
Factsheet | Data

Iowa:
Factsheet | Data

Kansas:
Factsheet | Data

Kentucky:
Factsheet | Data

Louisiana:
Factsheet | Data

Maine:
Factsheet | Data

Maryland:
Factsheet | Data

Massachusetts:
Factsheet | Data

Michigan:
Factsheet | Data

Minnesota:
Factsheet | Data

Mississippi:
Factsheet | Data

Missouri:
Factsheet | Data

Montana:
Factsheet | Data

Nebraska:
Factsheet | Data

Nevada:
Factsheet | Data

New Hampshire:
Factsheet | Data

New Jersey:
Factsheet | Data

New Mexico:
Factsheet | Data

New York:
Factsheet | Data

North Carolina:
Factsheet | Data

North Dakota:
Factsheet | Data

Ohio:
Factsheet | Data

Oklahoma:
Factsheet | Data

Oregon:
Factsheet | Data

Pennsylvania:
Factsheet | Data

Rhode Island:
Factsheet | Data

South Carolina:
Factsheet | Data

South Dakota:
Factsheet | Data

Tennessee:
Factsheet | Data

Texas:
Factsheet | Data

Utah:
Factsheet | Data

Vermont:
Factsheet | Data

Virginia:
Factsheet | Data

Washington:
Factsheet | Data

West Virginia:
Factsheet | Data

Wisconsin:
Factsheet | Data

Wyoming:
Factsheet | Data