Census figures track 10% increase in child poverty

Child poverty increased by more than 10% in 2023, according to figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, adding nearly 1 million more children to the number of those living without enough food, clothing and other life-sustaining resources.

Nearly 14% of all U.S. children — or 9.962 million kids — lived in poverty in 2023, according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), an increase of 1.3 percentage points over 2022. The increases, largely driven by cuts to food assistance and other aid even as prices for rent and household goods has risen, reveal a significant backslide since 2021, when Congress cut child poverty nearly in half. Children of color experienced poverty at roughly three times the rate of white children.

“Child poverty is, and has always been, a choice,” said Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus Campaign for Children. “In 2021, lawmakers proved that they know how to conquer child poverty. They offered children food aid and enacted policies such as the improved Child Tax Credit that drove child poverty to its lowest level in U.S. history. The expiration of these policies has sent us back to unacceptable — and utterly preventable — levels of child poverty that threaten the health of our children and the nation as a whole. Without congressional action, such as passage of the Child Tax Credit legislation by Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Sherrod Brown and by Sen. Bob Casey to create a child poverty reduction target, these numbers will remain shamefully high. Why do we continue to choose poverty for our children?”

According to the Census figures, 22% of all Hispanic children lived in poverty, while 20.7% of all Black children and 19.7% of all American Indian and Alaska Native children lived in poverty. Just over 7% of white children lived in poverty in 2023.

The SPM includes government assistance such as tax credits, income support and nutrition assistance. Today’s Census figures estimate that refundable tax credits lifted 3.4 million children out of poverty in 2023. In 2021, such supports drove child poverty in the U.S. to its lowest level in history, dropping the SPM 4.5 percentage points from 9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021.

First Focus on Children, the Campaign’s sister organization, documents the benefits of investing in children at the Child Investment Research Hub, a database of reports, statistics, and research — including information by state — connecting investments in children to measurable outcomes in child well-being. The Hub offers research on child development, employment outcomes, economic mobility, health and nutrition and other areas. Find the hub at this link.