Washington, D.C. — The official poverty rate fell from 2024 to 2025, while the supplemental poverty rate remained statistically unchanged. Newly released 2025 data serve as a benchmark against which to measure the impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), according to an analysis from the Center for American Progress examining newly released U.S. Census Bureau data.
The analysis finds that the official poverty rate fell to 10.2 percent, or 34.5 million people, in 2025, while the supplemental poverty measure remained steady at 13.1 percent, or nearly 44.4 million people. The supplemental poverty measure—which accounts for the impact of programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as well as expenses, including housing, medical care, and child care—provides a fuller picture of families’ economic well-being.
“Millions of families are already struggling to keep up with the rising cost of basic necessities,” said Kennedy Andara, a policy analyst on the Economic Policy team at CAP and co-author of the analysis. “Basic needs programs, such as SNAP and Social Security, keep millions of Americans out of poverty. The OBBBA’s cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and other social safety net programs make it harder for families to put food on the table, access health care, and afford the basic necessities.”
The analysis finds:
- Different measures of poverty rates diverged in 2025. The official poverty rate fell to 10.2 percent, or 34.5 million people, in 2025, while the supplemental poverty measure remained statistically unchanged at 13.1 percent, or nearly 44.4 million people.
- Further cuts threaten families’ access to food and health care. As the OBBBA’s cuts to SNAP and Medicaid take effect, the number of households struggling with food insecurity and a lack of health insurance is expected to increase.
- Safety net programs kept millions of Americans out of poverty. Under the supplemental poverty measure, Social Security lifted 28.8 million people out of poverty in 2025 and was the nation’s most effective anti-poverty program. Refundable tax credits, including the earned income tax credit and the refundable portion of the child tax credit, had the next-largest effect, lifting 6.1 million people out of poverty—followed by SNAP, which lifted 3.1 million people out of poverty.
- SNAP participation has already fallen sharply. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture administrative data, SNAP participation declined by nearly 2.4 million people between the enactment of the OBBBA in July 2025 and December 2025—and by roughly 5 million between July 2025 and May 2026. About 1.2 million are estimated to be children in the 25 states that reported data on child participation.
- Uninsurance rates remained statistically unchanged in 2025. The number of people without insurance in 2025 was 26.7 million, or 7.9 percent of the total population, compared with 27 million, or 8 percent, in 2024. Medical expenses pushed nearly 7.7 million people into poverty in 2025.
Read the analysis: “Poverty Rates Diverged in 2025 but Will Likely Rise Following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Implementation” by Kennedy Andara and Mimla Wardak
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Christian Unkenholz at [email protected].