News Report | November 17, 2019
11.8% Poverty Rate In 2018, Down 0.5 Percentage Points
The U.S. poverty rate declined by 0.5 percentage points from 12.3% in 2017 to 11.8% in 2018. The number of people in poverty in 2018 was 38.1 million compared to 39.5 million in 2017. In 2018, for the first time in 11 years, the official poverty rate was significantly lower than 2007, the year before the most recent recession.
Highlights of the report "Income and Poverty in the United States: 2018" included:
- Poverty rates for children under age 18 decreased 1.2 percentage points, from 17.4% in 2017 to 16.2 . . .