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Poverty in the United States: Compare the States

Use U.S. Census Bureau poverty data to compare states across more than a dozen topics that measure the health of the economy.

The U.S. Census Bureau could not provide its typical state and congressional district data for 2020 because the pandemic interrupted the data collection process. Experimental data were released instead, but the Census Bureau does not suggest comparing it to the standard estimates, so it is not included here.

Data IndicatorCaliforniaFlorida

Official poverty rate

Percentage of people who fell below the poverty threshold—$29,678 for a family of four—in 2022

12.2%

Rank: #28

12.7%

Rank: #34

Child poverty rate

Percentage of children under 18 in related families who had incomes below the poverty threshold in 2022

15.0%

Rank: #28

16.8%

Rank: #36

Gender wage gap

Median earnings of all working women compared to that of men in 2022

89¢

Rank: #2

85¢

Rank: #12

Lack of health insurance coverage

Percentage of people under age 65 and below 138 percent of the poverty threshold who did not have health insurance at any time in 2022

11.7%

Rank: #20

22.1%

Rank: #48

Income inequality

The share of income going to the top 20 percent of households versus that going to the bottom 20 percent of households in 2022

19.1%

Rank: #46

17.1%

Rank: #37

Zero or negative net worth

Percentage of households with zero or negative net worth—the sum of assets minus the sum of liabilities—in 2021

8.9%

Rank: #11

9.7%

Rank: #12

Affordable and available housing

Number of apartments or other units that were affordable and available for every 100 renter households with extremely low incomes—those with incomes at or below the federal poverty guideline or 30 percent of the area median income—in 2021

24 units

Rank: #47

23 units

Rank: #49

Hunger and food insecurity

Percentage of households that were food insecure on average from 2019 to 2021, meaning that at some point during the year, they experienced difficulty providing enough food for their families due to a lack of money or resources

9.6%

Rank: #19

9.9%

Rank: #23

Higher education attainment rate

Percentage of young adults ages 25 to 34 who had an associate’s degree or higher in 2022

48.9%

Rank: #21

47.7%

Rank: #25

Unemployment rate

Percentage of all workers who were unemployed in 2022

4.2%

Rank: #41

2.9%

Rank: #14

High school graduation

Percentage of public high school students who graduated on time in the 2019-20 school year

84.3%

Rank: #29

90.2%

Rank: #9

Savings and assets

Percentage of households who used high-cost, high-risk forms of credit to make ends meet during 2021, including payday loans, automobile title loans, refund anticipation loans, rent-to-own, and pawning

3.2%

Rank: #15

6.5%

Rank: #44
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Poverty in the United States: Explore the Data

Use U.S. Census Bureau poverty data to explore more than a dozen topics that measure the health of the economy at the state and congressional district levels.

Poverty in the United States: Explore the Map

Use U.S. Census Bureau poverty data to explore more than a dozen topics that measure the health of the economy at the state and national levels.

See The Data

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