Expansions to Child Tax Credit Contributed to 46% Decline in Child Poverty Since 2020

DATA USER NOTE:

On July 17, 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics re-released SPM thresholds for 2019-2024 following the discovery of coding errors. The U.S. Census Bureau will publish revised SPM poverty rates using these updated thresholds prior to the release of the annual poverty report in September. Refer to BLS statement and Census statement for more information.

Child poverty, calculated by the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), fell to its lowest recorded level in 2021, declining 46% from 9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today.

In contrast, when calculated by the official poverty measure, child poverty declined only 0.7 percentage points, from 16.0% to 15.3%.

The Census Bureau releases two measures of poverty every year: the official poverty measure and the SPM.

The new data show the significant impact the expansion of anti-poverty programs during the COVID-19 pandemic had on reducing child poverty.

To accurately compare the two, we created an expanded definition of the official poverty measure to include individuals typically excluded from that measure but included in the SPM. We refer to this as the official poverty measure with a consistent universe or official+ in this story.

The new data show the significant impact the expansion of anti-poverty programs during the COVID-19 pandemic had on reducing child poverty.

The official poverty measure is based on pretax cash income, while the SPM includes noncash benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and housing subsidies as well as net income after payroll taxes, tax credits and other necessary expenses. This infographic illustrates differences between the measures.

SPM child poverty rates have consistently been lower than the official ones since the beginning of the series in 2009. The two measures tended to move in the same directions up to 2019 (Figure below).

In 2020, the two child poverty measures began to diverge due to the impact of large anti-poverty programs established or expanded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the stimulus payments, expansions to SNAP, and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).

In 2021, the child poverty rates for four race and Hispanic origin categories examined were at their lowest since 2009 (Figure below).

SPM rates for Hispanic children fell the most, from 29.1% in 2009 to 8.4% in 2021. SPM rates for Black children fell by 17.1 percentage points, from 25.2% in 2009 to 8.1% in 2021.

Just between 2020 and 2021, Black child poverty rates slid by 8.8 percentage points. Similarly, Hispanic child poverty rates fell by 6.3 percentage points in that one year. ****

<div id="titlecore-905958c057"

Where this page came from

This page was imported from U.S. Census Bureau. Published by the U.S. Census Bureau and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain; material credited to others is left out.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.