THE 2009 HHS POVERTY GUIDELINES

One Version of the [U.S.] Federal Poverty Measure

[ Late st Pove rty Guidelines ]

[ Federal Register Notice , January 23, 2009 — Full tex t ]

[ Prior Poverty Guideline s and Federal Register Re fe rence s Since 1982 ]

[ Frequently Asked Que stions (FAQ s) ]

[ Furthe r Resources on Pove rty Mea surem ent, Poverty Line s, and Their History ]

[ Computa tions for the 2009 Pove rty Guideline s ]

There are two slightly different versions of the federal poverty measure:

The poverty thresholds, and

The poverty guidelines.

The poverty thresholds are the original version of the federal poverty measure. They are updated

each year by the Census Bureau (although they were originally developed by Mollie Orshansky of

the Social Security Administration). The thresholds are used mainly for statistical purposes — for

instance, preparing estimates of the number of Americans in poverty each year. (In other words, all

official poverty population figures are calculated using the poverty thresholds, not the guidelines.)

Poverty thresholds since 1973 (and for selected earlier years) and weighted average poverty

thresholds since 1959 are available on the Census Bureau’s Web site. For an example of how the

Census Bureau applies the thresholds to a family’s income to determine its poverty status, see “How

the Census Bureau Measures Poverty” on the Census Bureau’s web site.

The poverty guidelines are the other version of the federal poverty measure. They are issued each

year in the Federal Register by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The guidelines

are a simplification of the poverty thresholds for use for administrative purposes — for instance,

determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs. The Federal Register notice of the 2009

poverty guidelines is available.

The poverty guidelines are sometimes loosely referred to as the “federal poverty level” (FPL), but

that phrase is ambiguous and should be avoided, especially in situations (e.g., legislative or

administrative) where precision is important.

Key differences between poverty thresholds and poverty guidelines are outlined in a table under

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). See also the discussion of this topic on the Institute for

Research on Poverty’s web site.

NOTE: The poverty guideline figures below are NOT the figures the Census Bureau uses to calculate the number

of poor persons.

The f igures that the Census Bureau uses are the poverty thresholds.

The 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the

48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia

Persons in family Poverty guideline

1 $10,830

2 14,570

3 18,310

4 22,050

5 25,790

6 29,530

7 33,270

8 37,010

For familie s with m ore than 8 pe rsons, add $3,740 for ea ch additional pe rson.

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2009 Poverty Guidelines for

A laska

Persons in family Poverty guideline

1 $13,530

2 18,210

3 22,890

4 27,570

5 32,250

6 36,930

7 41,610

8 46,290

For familie s with m ore than 8 pe rsons, add $4,680 for ea ch additional pe rson.

2009 Poverty Guidelines for

Hawaii

Persons in family Poverty guideline

1 $12,460

2 16,760

3 21,060

4 25,360

5 29,660

6 33,960

7 38,260

8 42,560

For familie s with m ore than 8 pe rsons, add $4,300 for ea ch additional pe rson.

SOURCE: Federal Register, Vol. 74, No. 14, January 23, 2009, pp. 4199–4201

The separate poverty guidelines for Alaska and Hawaii reflect Office of Economic Opportunity

administrative practice beginning in the 1966-1970 period. Note that the poverty thresholds — the

original version of the poverty measure — have never had separate figures for Alaska and Hawaii.

The poverty guidelines are not defined for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa,

Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth

of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. In cases in which a Federal program using the poverty

guidelines serves any of those jurisdictions, the Federal office which administers the program is

responsible for deciding whether to use the contiguous-states-and-D.C. guidelines for those

jurisdictions or to follow some other procedure.

The poverty guidelines apply to both aged and non-aged units. The guidelines have never had an

aged/non-aged distinction; only the Census Bureau (statistical) poverty thresholds have separate

figures for aged and non-aged one-person and two-person units.

Programs using the guidelines (or percentage multiples of the guidelines — for instance, 125 percent

or 185 percent of the guidelines) in determining eligibility include Head Start, the Food Stamp

Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and

the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Note that in general, cash public assistance programs

(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Security Income) do NOT use the

poverty guidelines in determining eligibility. The Earned Income Tax Credit program also does NOT

use the poverty guidelines to determine eligibility. For a more detailed list of programs that do and

don’t use the guidelines, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

The poverty guidelines (unlike the poverty thresholds) are designated by the year in which they are

issued. For instance, the guidelines issued in January 2009 are designated the 2009 poverty

guidelines. However, the 2009 HHS poverty guidelines only reflect price changes through calendar

year 2008; accordingly, they are approximately equal to the Census Bureau poverty thresholds for

calendar year 2008. (The 2008 thresholds are expected to be issued in final form in August 2009; a

preliminary version of the 2008 thresholds is now available from the Census Bureau.)

The computations for the 2009 poverty guidelines are available.

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The poverty guidelines may be formally referenced as “the poverty guidelines updated periodically in

the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42

U.S.C. 9902(2).”

Go to Further Resources on Poverty Measurement, Poverty Lines, and Their History

Go to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Return to the main Poverty Guidelines, Research, and Measurement page.

La st Revised: 02/03/11

A SP E H ome | H HS H ome | Q ues tions ? | C ontac ting H H S | A c c es s ibility | P rivac y P olic y | FO IA | Dis c laimers | N o FE A R

A c t

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U.S. Departm ent of Health & Hum an Se rvice s – 200 Independence Avenue , S.W . – Wa shington, D.C . 20201

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