Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in United States of America
United States of America: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 22.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in United States of America, 1963–2024
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in United States of America stood at 22.6%.
That represents a change of down 3.8% on the previous year and down 28.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in United States of America peaked at 61.7% in 1963 and was at its lowest, 18.7%, in 2021.
That places United States of America 109th out of 120 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 62 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 61.7% | — |
| 1964 | 59.1% | -4.2% |
| 1965 | 55.1% | -6.8% |
| 1966 | 55.1% | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 52.6% | -4.5% |
| 1968 | 49.4% | -6.1% |
| 1969 | 47.4% | -4.0% |
| 1970 | 47.4% | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 46.4% | -2.1% |
| 1972 | 41.6% | -10.3% |
| 1973 | 39.8% | -4.3% |
| 1974 | 41.7% | +4.8% |
| 1975 | 41.0% | -1.7% |
| 1976 | 39.4% | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 38.5% | -2.3% |
| 1978 | 37.5% | -2.6% |
| 1979 | 36.8% | -1.9% |
| 1980 | 39.8% | +8.2% |
| 1981 | 41.8% | +5.0% |
| 1982 | 41.6% | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 40.3% | -3.1% |
| 1984 | 38.5% | -4.5% |
| 1985 | 37.7% | -2.1% |
| 1986 | 36.0% | -4.5% |
| 1987 | 34.2% | -5.0% |
| 1988 | 34.1% | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 33.8% | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 35.5% | +5.0% |
| 1991 | 35.4% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 35.6% | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 36.8% | +3.4% |
| 1994 | 35.5% | -3.5% |
| 1995 | 34.6% | -2.5% |
| 1996 | 34.5% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 33.3% | -3.5% |
| 1998 | 31.1% | -6.6% |
| 1999 | 30.2% | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 29.6% | -2.0% |
| 2001 | 30.0% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 29.8% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 29.8% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 29.8% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 29.7% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 29.5% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 29.1% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 30.6% | +5.2% |
| 2009 | 30.0% | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 30.8% | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 31.4% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 31.0% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 31.1% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 31.5% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 29.4% | -6.7% |
| 2016 | 27.4% | -6.8% |
| 2017 | 27.3% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 25.5% | -6.6% |
| 2019 | 23.2% | -9.0% |
| 2020 | 19.8% | -14.7% |
| 2021 | 18.7% | -5.6% |
| 2022 | 24.3% | +29.9% |
| 2023 | 23.5% | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 22.6% | -3.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 54.3% | 47.4% | 61.7% | 7 |
| 1970s | 41.0% | 36.8% | 47.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 37.8% | 33.8% | 41.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 34.2% | 30.2% | 36.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.8% | 29.1% | 30.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.9% | 23.2% | 31.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.8% | 18.7% | 24.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More poverty & inequality data for United States of America
- 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 poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in United States of America?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in United States of America was 22.6% in 2024, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 61.7% in 1963.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.7% in 2021.
- How does United States of America rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- United States of America ranks 109th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States of America 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 Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $40 per day.