Poverty has become a topic of interest for Congress. While the most recent Census report, for 2015, shows the largest statistically significant one-year decline in the overall poverty rate since 1999, poverty remains higher than it was prior to the Great Recession. Further, poverty rates have primarily been rising since 2000, with statistically significant declines occurring only three times between 2000 and 2015. The fact of a persistently high poverty rate has led policymakers to reexamine the drivers of poverty—both economic and social—and the effectiveness of various policy responses. As the conversations about poverty and public policy continue, it may be useful to ask: Who are the people who are poor in the United States? This report provides a snapshot of who was poor in 2015 by selected demographic, economic, and social characteristics. The data presented here show that people in poverty are not a monolithic group, but rather a diverse collection of families and individuals at different stages of life, living in different circumstances. Special attention is paid in this report to the role of work in the lives of people who are poor. Income from work, or the lack thereof, is central to the economic fortunes not only of those considered "working-age," but also of children, who are generally dependent on working-age adults, and persons who are aged (age 65 and older), who generally have prior experience in the workforce that shapes their economic well-being after they retire. Attention is also paid to living arrangements. Because poverty is measured at the family level, considerations such as whether someone lives alone, or whom someone lives and potentially shares resources with, influence economic well-being. Other factors that affect family well-being, and that influence individuals' attachment to and success in the labor market, are important for considering individuals' experiences of poverty but are beyond the scope of this report. This snapshot looks at the composition of people in poverty—what groups comprise what share of the poverty population—rather than at poverty rates among different groups. This provides a different perspective in viewing poverty. A large population group such as non-Hispanic whites might have relatively low poverty rates, but because of the group's size in the overall population it represents a relatively large share of the poverty population. A small population, such as American Indians, might have relatively high poverty rates, but because of the group's size it represents a relatively small share of the poverty population. Both perspectives on poverty are valid and relevant to public policy. Readers interested in an examination of poverty rates for different demographic groups—and trends in poverty over time—should see CRS Report R44644, Poverty in the United States in 2015: In Brief , by [author name scrubbed]. Poverty, in general, is a lack of resources to meet basic needs. This report uses the official measure of poverty used by the U.S. Census Bureau to identify individuals as "poor." However, it is important to note that the Census poverty measure is actually family -based. Whether a person is considered poor depends on his or her money income and the income of any other family members—those related to a family head by birth, marriage, or adoption—with whom the person lives and presumably shares resources. If an individual is living alone or with people who are not relatives, that individual is considered a family of one and only his or her income is counted in determining his or her poverty status. That money income is then compared with a dollar threshold, which is based on that individual's family composition. For example, the poverty threshold for a working-age single person (who does not live in a family) in 2015 was $12,331. A single person with income below that amount is considered poor. The poverty threshold for a family of two adults and two children was $24,036. If the combined income of all family members was below that amount, all people in that family would be considered poor. The current official poverty measure has existed for about 50 years and is widely used, but it does have limitations. For example, the official measure looks only at pre-tax money income and does not examine the impact of government taxes and non-cash benefits on family well-being. The official measure also generally does not take the value of assets into account, though a recent change in measurement now considers distributions from retirement savings as income. The official measure is also the same across the country, and does not take into consideration differences in living costs in different geographical areas. Additionally, the measure's current definition of family does not take into account modern resource-sharing arrangements, such as those of cohabiting couples. The Census Bureau now publishes a supplemental poverty measure (SPM) for research purposes that does take into account taxes and transfers, make adjustments for housing costs by geographical area, and use an expanded definition of family. In 2015, an estimated 43.1 million people had pre-tax money income below the poverty threshold. As shown in Figure 1 , people who were poor accounted for 13.5% of the total noninstitutionalized population. The number and percentage of people in poverty reflect those whose family income fell short of the poverty threshold by any dollar amount. Of course, some people are poorer than others. Recently, there has been increasing attention on the very poor: those considered to be in "deep poverty." Figure 2 shows the number of people in poverty in 2015 by the severity of their poverty. Deep poverty is usually defined as having income below 50% of the poverty threshold. In 2015, an estimated 19.4 million persons, close to half of all people in poverty (45.1%), were counted as living in deep poverty. The population of people living in poverty comprised individuals of all ages, both sexes, and in several racial and ethnic groups. Figure 3 shows the composition of the population living in poverty and the overall population (for context) by age group in 2015. Three categories are presented: children (those under age 18), working-age adults (those ages 18 to 64), and the aged (those age 65 and older). As shown in the figure, fully one-third (14.5 million) of all people in poverty were children. Children were over-represented among people in poverty relative to the overall population—33.6% compared to 23.1%. People who were working age (18-64) made up the largest share of the population who were poor, but they were under-represented among people in poverty relative to the overall population (56.6% compared to 61.9%). Ten percent of persons who were poor were age 65 and older, a smaller representation than their share of the overall population (15%). Figure 4 shows the composition of people in the poverty population and the total population (for context) by race and ethnicity for 2015. The racial and ethnic groups presented are ranked by the size of their total population (which is the same in both cases). Non-Hispanic whites were the largest racial/ethnic group overall (61.4% of the total population), and represented the largest racial/ethnic group within the poverty population (41.2%). Hispanics (of any race) were the second largest group (17.8% of the total population) and represented 28.1% of all those who were poor. Non-Hispanic African-Americans were the third largest racial/ethnic group in both the total and poverty populations, representing 12.3% and 22.0%, respectively. Note that most minority groups were over-represented in the poverty population relative to their share of the overall population. The over-represented groups were Hispanics, non-Hispanic African-Americans, non-Hispanic American Indians and Alaska Natives, and non-Hispanic persons of two or more races. Under-represented racial/ethnic groups were non-Hispanic whites and Asians. The racial and ethnic composition of people in poverty by age group is shaped by the overall demographic trends affecting each age group. As illustrated in Figure 5 , children (under age 18), both poor and overall, are more racially and ethnically diverse than adults, especially the aged (age 65+). However, minorities were over-represented in the poverty population for all age groups in 2015. For instance, Hispanic children (of any race) made up the largest share of poor children (36.3%) whereas non-Hispanic white children made up the largest share (51.4%) of children overall. Women slightly outnumber men in the overall population, accounting for 51% of the total population in 2015. However, as shown in Figure 6 , women represented an even larger share (55.9%) of the population in poverty. This over-representation may be due, in part, to the fact that women are more likely than men to head single-parent households, a family type that is more likely to be poor. Additionally, men's earnings are higher than women's on average, even accounting for differences in full-time year-round employment status. Poverty raises different public policy considerations for children, working-age adults, and aged adults. Children are not expected to support themselves economically—they are dependents of their parents or other adult caretakers who are assumed to fulfill that responsibility. Policies affecting the family income and poverty status of children generally apply to their parents or other adult caretakers. Working-age adults—aside from those who are severely disabled—are expected to work and to support themselves and their children, if they have any. Aged adults may retire from work and draw income from public or private benefits, which are based primarily on their past work. The remainder of this report separately explores poverty among children, working-age adults, and aged adults. Though relevant policy considerations may differ among the three groups, the central role played by work as the primary means of economic support for individuals and families is highlighted. That work could be one's own work, the work of the parents or other family members, or past work providing retirement income.