Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United States
United States: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 a day was 1.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 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
United States recorded 1.2% for poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.3% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day 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.
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 reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 534.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 3.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on Pa 35,363 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied to 17,186 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day in United States?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day 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 poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 1963.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2020.
- How does United States rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day?
- United States ranks 73rd out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $4.20 a day 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 Poverty: Share of population living on less than $4.20 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 $4.20 per day.