Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in United States
United States: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day was 13.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in United States, 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 $30 a day in United States stood at 13.1%.
The figure is down 5.1% on the previous year and down 31.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in United States peaked at 43.7% in 1963 and was at its lowest, 8.9%, in 2021.
That places United States 104th 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 $30 a day in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 43.7% | — |
| 1964 | 40.8% | -6.6% |
| 1965 | 37.6% | -7.8% |
| 1966 | 36.9% | -1.9% |
| 1967 | 35.3% | -4.3% |
| 1968 | 32.3% | -8.5% |
| 1969 | 30.8% | -4.6% |
| 1970 | 30.8% | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 30.0% | -2.6% |
| 1972 | 26.6% | -11.3% |
| 1973 | 24.9% | -6.4% |
| 1974 | 25.6% | +2.8% |
| 1975 | 25.8% | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 24.6% | -4.7% |
| 1977 | 23.7% | -3.7% |
| 1978 | 22.9% | -3.4% |
| 1979 | 22.4% | -2.2% |
| 1980 | 24.8% | +10.7% |
| 1981 | 26.5% | +6.9% |
| 1982 | 26.9% | +1.5% |
| 1983 | 26.5% | -1.5% |
| 1984 | 25.1% | -5.3% |
| 1985 | 24.6% | -2.0% |
| 1986 | 23.3% | -5.3% |
| 1987 | 22.0% | -5.6% |
| 1988 | 21.8% | -0.9% |
| 1989 | 21.6% | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 22.8% | +5.6% |
| 1991 | 23.2% | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 23.3% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 24.2% | +3.9% |
| 1994 | 22.9% | -5.4% |
| 1995 | 22.1% | -3.5% |
| 1996 | 22.1% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 20.9% | -5.4% |
| 1998 | 19.6% | -6.2% |
| 1999 | 18.8% | -4.1% |
| 2000 | 18.1% | -3.7% |
| 2001 | 18.5% | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 18.6% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 18.3% | -1.6% |
| 2004 | 18.4% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 18.2% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 18.0% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 18.2% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 19.0% | +4.4% |
| 2009 | 18.0% | -5.3% |
| 2010 | 18.7% | +3.9% |
| 2011 | 19.1% | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 19.1% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 19.2% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 19.2% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 17.5% | -8.9% |
| 2016 | 16.3% | -6.9% |
| 2017 | 16.3% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 15.0% | -8.0% |
| 2019 | 13.6% | -9.3% |
| 2020 | 10.6% | -22.1% |
| 2021 | 8.9% | -16.0% |
| 2022 | 14.5% | +62.9% |
| 2023 | 13.8% | -4.8% |
| 2024 | 13.1% | -5.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 13.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 19.3%, 68% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +62.9% | 8.9% | 14.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 36.8% | 30.8% | 43.7% | 7 |
| 1970s | 25.7% | 22.4% | 30.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 24.3% | 21.6% | 26.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.0% | 18.8% | 24.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.3% | 18.0% | 19.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.4% | 13.6% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.2% | 8.9% | 14.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More poverty & inequality data for United States
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in United States?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in United States was 13.1% 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 $30 a day recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 43.7% in 1963.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.9% in 2021.
- How does United States rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day?
- United States ranks 104th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day. 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
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $30 per day.