Distribution of population between different poverty lines in United States
United States: Distribution of population between different poverty lines was 3.74 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
3.74 million people
Change on year
down 7.4%
World rank
27th
of 120 countries
All-time high
4.68 million people
in 2022
All-time low
996,299 people
in 2021
Years of data
62
1963–2024
Distribution of population between different poverty lines in United States, 1963–2024
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, distribution of population between different poverty lines in United States stood at 3.74 million people.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.4% on the previous year and down 9.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, distribution of population between different poverty lines in United States peaked at 4.68 million people in 2022 and was at its lowest, 996,299 people, in 2021.
United States ranks 27th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.
Distribution of population between different poverty lines in United States, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 3.03 million people | — |
| 1964 | 2.88 million people | -4.9% |
| 1965 | 2.53 million people | -12.2% |
| 1966 | 2.36 million people | -6.6% |
| 1967 | 2.19 million people | -7.3% |
| 1968 | 1.81 million people | -17.4% |
| 1969 | 1.42 million people | -21.5% |
| 1970 | 2.26 million people | +59.0% |
| 1971 | 1.87 million people | -17.1% |
| 1972 | 1.68 million people | -10.2% |
| 1973 | 1.70 million people | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 1.92 million people | +13.5% |
| 1975 | 1.51 million people | -21.5% |
| 1976 | 1.53 million people | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 1.32 million people | -13.4% |
| 1978 | 1.34 million people | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 1.58 million people | +18.0% |
| 1980 | 1.36 million people | -13.5% |
| 1981 | 1.38 million people | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 1.85 million people | +34.6% |
| 1983 | 1.64 million people | -11.7% |
| 1984 | 1.41 million people | -13.5% |
| 1985 | 1.43 million people | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 1.44 million people | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 1.45 million people | +0.9% |
| 1988 | 1.22 million people | -15.9% |
| 1989 | 1.23 million people | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 1.25 million people | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 1.52 million people | +21.6% |
| 1992 | 1.54 million people | +1.4% |
| 1993 | 1.56 million people | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 1.84 million people | +18.1% |
| 1995 | 1.86 million people | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 1.89 million people | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 2.18 million people | +15.7% |
| 1998 | 2.48 million people | +13.8% |
| 1999 | 1.95 million people | -21.3% |
| 2000 | 2.26 million people | +15.6% |
| 2001 | 2.56 million people | +13.6% |
| 2002 | 2.59 million people | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 2.90 million people | +12.1% |
| 2004 | 3.22 million people | +11.0% |
| 2005 | 2.96 million people | -8.2% |
| 2006 | 3.28 million people | +11.1% |
| 2007 | 3.01 million people | -8.2% |
| 2008 | 3.35 million people | +11.0% |
| 2009 | 3.07 million people | -8.3% |
| 2010 | 3.40 million people | +10.9% |
| 2011 | 3.43 million people | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 3.46 million people | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 3.48 million people | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 4.15 million people | +19.1% |
| 2015 | 3.86 million people | -7.0% |
| 2016 | 3.89 million people | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 4.25 million people | +9.1% |
| 2018 | 3.61 million people | -14.9% |
| 2019 | 3.30 million people | -8.6% |
| 2020 | 1.33 million people | -59.8% |
| 2021 | 996,299 people | -24.9% |
| 2022 | 4.68 million people | +369.4% |
| 2023 | 4.04 million people | -13.6% |
| 2024 | 3.74 million people | -7.4% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 3.74 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 41,302 people, 90.6× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Distribution of population between different poverty lines in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +369.4% | 996,299 people | 4.68 million people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.31 million people | 1.42 million people | 3.03 million people | 7 |
| 1970s | 1.67 million people | 1.32 million people | 2.26 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.44 million people | 1.22 million people | 1.85 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.81 million people | 1.25 million people | 2.48 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.92 million people | 2.26 million people | 3.35 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.68 million people | 3.30 million people | 4.25 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.96 million people | 996,299 people | 4.68 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More poverty & inequality data for United States
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.62 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 8,414 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 24.85 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 24.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is distribution of population between different poverty lines in United States?
- Distribution of population between different poverty lines in United States was 3.74 million people in 2024, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest distribution of population between different poverty lines recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 4.68 million people in 2022.
- What is the lowest distribution of population between different poverty lines recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 996,299 people in 2021.
- How does United States rank for distribution of population between different poverty lines?
- United States ranks 27th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is distribution of population between different poverty lines rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Distribution of population between different poverty lines. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people living in households with an income or consumption below $3 per day.