Share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in United States
United States: Share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share was 1.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty 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, share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty in United States stood at 1.2%.
The figure is down 14.3% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty in United States peaked at 2.1% in 1963 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2020.
United States ranks 73rd of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 62 years of available data.
Share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 2.1% | — |
| 1964 | 2.0% | -4.8% |
| 1965 | 1.8% | -10.0% |
| 1966 | 1.7% | -5.6% |
| 1967 | 1.5% | -11.8% |
| 1968 | 1.2% | -20.0% |
| 1969 | 1.0% | -16.7% |
| 1970 | 1.4% | +40.0% |
| 1971 | 1.2% | -14.3% |
| 1972 | 1.1% | -8.3% |
| 1973 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 1.0% | -9.1% |
| 1976 | 0.9% | -10.0% |
| 1977 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.8% | -11.1% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 1980 | 0.7% | -22.2% |
| 1981 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 1982 | 1.0% | +25.0% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | -10.0% |
| 1984 | 0.8% | -11.1% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 1986 | 0.8% | -11.1% |
| 1987 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.7% | -12.5% |
| 1989 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 1995 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.8% | -11.1% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 1998 | 1.0% | +11.1% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -20.0% |
| 2000 | 0.9% | +12.5% |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +22.2% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | +9.1% |
| 2004 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.2% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | -15.4% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | +18.2% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.5% | +15.4% |
| 2015 | 1.4% | -6.7% |
| 2016 | 1.3% | -7.1% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | +15.4% |
| 2018 | 1.3% | -13.3% |
| 2019 | 1.2% | -7.7% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -58.3% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | +20.0% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | +150.0% |
| 2023 | 1.4% | -6.7% |
| 2024 | 1.2% | -14.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 1.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.6%, 2.1× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +150.0% | 0.6% | 1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.6% | 1.0% | 2.1% | 7 |
| 1970s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.5% | 1.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More poverty & inequality data for United States
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty in United States?
- Share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty in United States was 1.2% in 2024, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 1963.
- What is the lowest share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2020.
- How does United States rank for share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty?
- United States ranks 73rd out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. 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 Share of population living on less than $4.20 per day vs. share in multidimensional poverty. 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 $4.20 per day.