The Number of Children Living in Poverty Has More Than Doubled From 2021-2022

The new report from the U.S. Census Bureau is truly troubling.

Fact checked by Sarah Scott

It is no secret that the number of people living in poverty in the United States has consistently reached shocking and deplorable numbers. Food and housing insecurity is an issue that plagues many families, and the programs available often aren’t enough to help those who need it.

New numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau show poverty is still high, but even more so when it comes to children. In fact, the number of children living in poverty more than doubled between 2021 and 2022.

The Census Bureau's report provides estimates of two measures of poverty. First, there's the official poverty measure, which was produced in the 1960s. It "defines poverty by comparing pretax money income to a national poverty threshold adjusted by family composition."

But this latest report also looks at something called the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) which is produced in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to account for government programs designed to assist low-income families, not included in official poverty measure calculations. The SPM also accounts for geographic differences in housing expenses and includes federal and state taxes, work expenses, and medical expenses. The SPM provides a different metric of economic well-being than the official poverty measure.

The 2022 poverty rate in the U.S. was 11.5%, with almost 38 million people in poverty. Those numbers alone weren't too different from 2021. But when you look at the SPM child poverty rate, it more than doubled from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022.

What the Study Tells Us About Poverty Levels

The study reveals that 2022 had the lowest poverty rate on record for Black Americans, which is some positive news.

While the poverty rates did increase for White and non-Hispanic White populations, the rates did not statistically change for the Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, those who are two or more races, or Hispanic (any race) populations.

Another alarming takeaway from this study is that not only did the SPM more than double for children, but it also increased for 18-64 year olds, and people 65 years and older.

Reasons for the Staggering Jump in Poverty Levels

If we look at what has changed in the last year, we can attribute a portion of this increase in poverty levels to Congress not renewing the pandemic-area child tax credit. Megan A. Curran, PhD, the Policy Director for the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University says one of the most important takeaways is that policy matters.

“As researchers who closely follow how children fared prior to, during, and after the pandemic, as well as the impacts of social policy changes on child and family outcomes, the new child poverty numbers from the Census Bureau were sadly not surprising, but still shocking,” she says.

The Center on Poverty and Social Policy indicates the increase in child poverty levels marks the sharpest year-to-year increase on record. In fact, in a policy brief related to these Census Bureau numbers, the group estimates if the expanded Child Tax Credit was still in effect in 2022, the poverty rate would have been much lower at 8.1%. They also showed it could have kept more than five million children from poverty.

“While the magnitude of this rapid change is still hard to grasp, a significant increase in child poverty last year was unfortunately expected by many researchers ahead of this new data release," Curren says. "This is because the policy changes that drove the historic reduction in child poverty in 2020 and 2021 (for example, stimulus checks, expanded unemployment assistance, expanded food assistance, and specifically in 2021, an expanded Child Tax Credit) had all expired by 2022.”

"The policy changes that drove the historic reduction in child poverty in 2020 and 2021 (for example, stimulus checks, expanded unemployment assistance, expanded food assistance, and specifically in 2021, an expanded Child Tax Credit) had all expired by 2022."

Megan A. Curran, PhD

Layla Sotelo, LMSW, a New York-based social worker and psychotherapist says policies tend to overcomplicate the social welfare issues of children, as well as, family poverty.

“The child tax credit expansion, as well as the stimulus payments, were a straightforward method of supporting families in need. That's why they were effective in decreasing child poverty rates," Sotelo says. "These are some of the same areas that are targeted in child maltreatment prevention programs, indicating that direct cash assistance would also be an effective primary prevention strategy to reduce child maltreatment. In fact, many families end up experiencing the trauma and stress of child welfare system involvement due to symptoms of poverty being conflated with neglect."

“In 2022, these changes expired: credit levels decreased, but, most importantly, children historically excluded from the credit were left out once again, with many groups of children disproportionately left out,” Curran adds.

For example, according to another policy brief from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy, almost 40% of Black and Latino children were left out of the full credit in 2022. More than a third (35%) of children in rural families, over one-third of children (36%) in families with at least three children, and just under one-third of children in families with young children under 6 (31%) were also left out, plus almost half (48%) of children living with a single mother.

What are Some of the Problems?

Curran says no one could ever have predicted that the pandemic ended up providing us with some of the most striking evidence of what works to reduce child poverty in the United States. But what makes it difficult? Bureaucracy and a lack of understanding of the process.

“We have many different forms of support—from food to housing to child care assistance—for families in this country, but all too often, we make it too difficult for families to qualify or access it or understand what they might be eligible for in the first place,” she explains.

Sotelo mirrors this sentiment by adding that the current system is too often disorganized and difficult to navigate, leaving some families confused when just trying to figure out what type of assistance they may be eligible for and how to access it.

“Then filling out lengthy paperwork, working with various caseworkers, being kept on hold sometimes for hours, eventually having to find the time to go in person to a welfare office and potentially spend the entire day there to get anything done--the whole process is an added stressor and time commitment for families that are already struggling,” she says.

Are There Solutions to the Poverty Crisis?

During the pandemic, Congress and many states took quick action to remove many barriers to accessing food, housing, and childcare support that can help families meet their basic needs. They also expanded eligibility to tax credits and other policies where large numbers of our families with children have been historically left out. One example is the Child Tax Credit.

“A wealth of evidence shows that the expanded Child Tax Credit in 2021 increased family incomes, helped reduce child poverty to the lowest on record, reduced hunger, helped families buy food, clothing, and pay for child-related items and services like education, extracurriculars, tutoring, and child care, and reduced family financial stress,” Curran explains.

The policy was temporary however, so many of these gains for families were temporary as well. “But this example shows that significantly reducing child poverty is well within our reach and we know what works in terms of helping families with the cost of raising children. The question is whether we can commit to it as a country over the longer term,” says Curran.

Based on her work in direct services to individuals and families, Sotelo says that some of the most significant impacts of financial stress, or in this case a reduction in financial stress, are some of the most difficult to quantify.

“There is an aspect of financial stress that you can't read on a graph, but you can feel it in a room with someone," she says. "Children growing up in a financially stressed household can feel it too. Current social welfare issues are complex and deeply interwoven with historical and intergenerational traumas and oppression. Not all of the solutions have to be that complex. Just give people some damn money.”

Related: Talking to Kids About Social Class Helps Shape Their Views—Here's What To Say

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