Items listed here include reports, papers, analyses and measures of poverty in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau calculates a federal poverty measure annually using the poverty thresholds. The measure is based on the cost of food, assumes that food is 1/3 of a families’ budget, is the same for every geographic location, and varies based upon family size. A related, but slightly different, federal poverty measure are the federal poverty guidelines. The poverty guidelines are issued annually by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and are used to determine eligibility for various social services programs. For more on the poverty guidelines, see that section herein.
