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A profile of the working poor, 2023

In 2023, 36.8 million people, or 11.1 percent of the nation’s population, lived below the official poverty level, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.¹ (See the technical notes section for examples of poverty levels.) Although the poor were primarily adults who had not participated in the labor force during the year and children, 6.1 million individuals were among the “working poor” in 2023, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); this measure edged up from 2022. The working poor are people who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force (that is, working or looking for work) but whose incomes still fell below the official poverty level. In 2023, the working-poor rate—the ratio of the working poor to all individuals in the labor force for at least 27 weeks—was 3.8 percent, down from the previous year’s figure (4.0 percent). (See table A, chart 1, and table 1.)

 Table A. Poverty status of people and primary families in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 2008–23 (numbers in thousands)

Characteristic	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Total in the labor force1	147,838	147,902	146,859	147,475	148,735	149,483	150,319	152,230	153,364	154,762	156,454	157,769	153,201	156,347	158,965	161,076
In poverty	8,883	10,391	10,512	10,382	10,612	10,450	9,487	8,560	7,572	6,946	6,964	6,318	6,306	6,352	6,425	6,134
Working-poor rate	6.0	7.0	7.2	7.0	7.1	7.0	6.3	5.6	4.9	4.5	4.5	4.0	4.1	4.1	4.0	3.8
Unrelated individuals	32,785	33,798	34,099	33,731	34,810	35,061	35,018	35,953	35,789	36,959	37,082	36,805	37,080	37,856	38,170	39,047
In poverty	3,275	3,947	3,947	3,621	3,851	4,141	3,395	3,137	2,792	2,524	2,684	2,445	2,424	2,496	2,435	2,568
Working-poor rate	10.0	11.7	11.6	10.7	11.1	11.8	9.7	8.7	7.8	6.8	7.2	6.6	6.5	6.6	6.4	6.6
Primary families2	65,907	65,467	64,931	66,225	66,541	66,462	66,732	67,193	67,628	67,588	68,099	68,318	66,781	67,860	67,780	68,294
In poverty	4,538	5,193	5,269	5,469	5,478	5,137	5,108	4,607	4,082	3,854	3,628	3,232	3,260	3,257	3,315	3,045
Working-poor rate	6.9	7.9	8.1	8.3	8.2	7.7	7.7	6.9	6.0	5.7	5.3	4.7	4.9	4.8	4.9	4.5
1 Includes individuals in families, not shown separately. 2 Primary families with at least one member in the labor force for more than half the year. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highlights from the 2023 data:

• The working-poor rate of people in the labor force for 27 weeks or more was 3.8 percent, down from a year earlier (4.0 percent). (See chart 1.)
• Full-time workers remained much less likely to be among the working poor than part-time workers. Among people in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 2.4 percent of those usually employed full time were classified as working poor, compared with 9.4 percent of part-time workers. (See table 1.)
• Women were more likely than men to be among the working poor (4.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively). In addition, Hispanic or Latino (6.9 percent) and Black or African American (5.6 percent) workers continued to be more likely than White (3.5 percent) and Asian (2.8 percent) workers to be among the working poor.² (See table 2.)
• The likelihood of being classified as working poor diminishes as workers attain higher levels of education. Among those with less than a high school diploma, 11.4 percent of those who were in the labor force for at least 27 weeks were classified as working poor, compared with 1.3 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree and higher. (See table 3.)
• Individuals who were employed in service occupations remained more likely to be among the working poor (7.9 percent) than those employed in other major occupational groups. (See table 4.)
• Among families with at least one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, those with children under 18 years old (7.6 percent) were five times as likely as those without children (1.5 percent) to live in poverty. Families maintained by women (11.9 percent) were much more likely to be living below the poverty level than families maintained by men (6.4 percent). (See table 5.)

This report presents data on the relationship between labor force activity and poverty status in 2023 for workers and their families. These data were collected in the 2024 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). For a detailed description of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used in the report, see the technical notes. The specific income thresholds used to determine people’s poverty status vary depending on whether the individuals are living with family members, living alone, or living with nonrelatives. For people living with family members, the poverty threshold is determined by the family’s total income; for individuals not living in families, personal income is used as the determinant.

Demographic characteristics

Among those who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 2023, the number of women classified as working poor (3.2 million) was little different than that of men (2.9 million). However, the working-poor rate continued to be higher for women (4.2 percent) than for men (3.4 percent). The rate for men declined from a year earlier, while the rate for women changed little. (See table 2.)

Hispanic or Latino and Black or African American workers continued to be more likely than White and Asian workers to be among the working poor. In 2023, the working-poor rates for Hispanic and Black workers were 6.9 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, compared with 3.5 percent for White workers and 2.8 percent for Asian workers. The working-poor rate for White workers declined by 0.3 percentage point from 2022 to 2023. (See table 2 and chart 2.)

In 2023, the working-poor rate for Black or African American workers was higher for women than for men (6.6 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively). The rates for White women (3.7 percent) and White men (3.2 percent) declined from a year earlier and were little different from each other in 2023. The rate for Hispanic or Latino women, at 7.2 percent, was little different from that of Hispanic men at 6.7 percent. The working-poor rate for Asian women was 2.9 percent, similar to the rate for Asian men (2.6 percent). (See table 2.)

Young workers—those ages 16 to 24—tend to have higher working-poor rates than workers in older age groups, in part because earnings are lower and the unemployment rate is higher for young workers. Among youth who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 6.9 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds and 7.2 percent of 20- to 24-year-olds had incomes that fell below the official poverty level in 2023. Those rates were higher than the rates for workers ages 25 to 34 (4.7 percent) and those ages 35 to 44 (4.1 percent). Workers ages 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and 65 and older had lower working-poor rates—2.8 percent, 2.2 percent, and 1.8 percent, respectively—than the younger age groups. In 2023, the working-poor rate for those ages 55 to 64 declined by 0.6 percentage point. (See table 2.)

Educational attainment

People who complete more years of education usually have greater access to higher paying jobs—such as in management, professional, and related occupations— and are less likely to live in poverty than those with fewer years of education. In 2023, those with less than a high school diploma continued to have the highest working-poor rate at 11.4 percent. This rate was nearly 9 times higher than for those with a bachelor’s degree and higher (at 1.3 percent) in 2023. (See table 3 and chart 3.)

By sex, women were more likely than men to be among the working poor both for high school graduates (7.3 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively) and those with some college or associate’s degree (4.7 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively) in 2023. The working-poor rates were little different for men and women with a bachelor’s degree and higher (1.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively) and for men and women with less than a high school diploma (10.5 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively). (See table 3 and chart 3.)

For those with a bachelor’s degree and higher, the working-poor rates for the race and ethnicity groups were 1.1 percent for White workers, 1.5 percent for Black workers, 1.6 percent for Asian workers, and 2.0 percent for Hispanic or Latino workers in 2023. For all race and ethnicity groups, working-poor rates were much higher for those with less than a high school diploma: 13.9 percent for Hispanic workers, 13.4 percent for Black workers, 11.1 percent for White workers, and 6.2 percent for Asian workers. (See table 3 and chart 3.)

Occupation

The likelihood of being among the working poor varies widely by occupation. The working-poor rate for workers in management, professional, and related occupations continued to be the lowest among the major occupation groups, at 1.2 percent in 2023. By contrast, individuals employed in occupations that typically do not require high levels of education and that are characterized by relatively low earnings were more likely to be among the working poor. Workers in service occupations held the highest working-poor rate at 7.9 percent in 2023. The 2.0 million working poor employed in service occupations accounted for about one-third of the working poor. (See table 4.)

In 2023, the working-poor rate was lower for men than for women among workers in management, professional, and related occupations (0.9 percent versus 1.5 percent) and in production, transportation, and material moving occupations (3.5 percent versus 6.3 percent). For both men and women, working-poor rates were the lowest in management, professional, and related occupations and the highest in service occupations (9.2 percent for women and 6.1 percent for men) and in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (7.3 percent for women and 5.7 percent for men). The working-poor rates for women and men in sales and office occupations were little different (and 4.1 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively). (See table 4.)

Families

In 2023, 3.0 million families were living below the poverty level despite having at least one member in the labor force for half of the year or more. This figure was 3.3 million in 2022. Among families with only one member in the labor force for at least 27 weeks in 2023, married-couple families were less likely to be living below the poverty level, at 5.9 percent, than were families maintained by women, at 16.5 percent, and families maintained by men, at 9.7 percent. (See table 5.)

Among families with at least one member in the labor force for more than half the year, those with children in the household were much more likely to live below the poverty level than those without children (7.6 percent versus 1.5 percent) in 2023. Among families with children under 18, the working-poor rate for those maintained by women (18.5 percent) was higher than that for those maintained by men (10.3 percent). Married-couple families with children under 18 had a working-poor rate of 4.1 percent in 2023. (See table 5.)

Unrelated individuals

The unrelated individuals category includes individuals who live by themselves or with others not related to them. Of the 39.0 million unrelated individuals who were in the labor force for half the year or longer, 2.6 million lived below the poverty level in 2023. This measure was little changed from a year earlier. The working-poor rate for unrelated individuals was also little changed, at 6.6 percent, from the 2022 figure. (See table 7.)Within the category of unrelated individuals, teenagers continued to have the highest working poor rate at 37.0 percent in 2023. This figure was little changed from the prior year. In 2023, the working-poor rates for men and women living alone or with nonrelatives were 6.2 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively. By race and ethnicity, the working-poor rate for unrelated individuals was 10.3 percent for Hispanic workers, 7.6 percent for Black workers, 6.9 percent for Asian workers, and 6.2 percent for White workers. (See table 7.)

Of the 2.6 million unrelated individuals who were among the working poor in 2023, about 3 out of 5 lived with others. These individuals had a higher working-poor rate (8.5 percent) than individuals who lived alone (4.7 percent). Many unrelated individuals living below the poverty level may live with others out of necessity. By contrast, many of those who live alone do so because they have sufficient income to support themselves. Unrelated individuals’ poverty status, however, is determined by each person’s resources. The pooling of resources and sharing of living expenses may permit some individuals in this category—who are technically classified as poor—to live at a higher standard than they would have if they lived alone.

Labor market problems

As noted earlier, people who usually work full time are much less likely to live in poverty than those who work part time, yet there remains a sizable group of full-time workers who live below the poverty threshold. Among those who participated in the labor force for 27 weeks or more and usually worked in full-time wage and salary jobs, 2.8 million were classified as working poor in 2023—little changed from a year earlier. (See table 8.)

There are three major labor market problems that can hinder a worker’s ability to earn an income that is above the poverty threshold: low earnings, periods of unemployment, and involuntary part-time employment. (See the technical notes section for detailed definitions.)

In 2023, 81 percent of the working poor who usually work full time experienced at least one of the major labor market problems. Low earnings continued to be the most common problem, with 65 percent subject to low earnings, either as the only problem or in combination with other labor market problems. Among the working poor, 27 percent experienced unemployment as the main labor market problem or in conjunction with other problems. In 2023, 2.0 percent of the working poor experienced all three labor market problems, compared with about 4 percent from the prior year. (See table 8.)

In 2023, 544,000, or 19 percent of the working poor who usually worked full time did not experience any of the three primary labor market problems, little changed from 2022. Their classification as working poor may be explained by other factors, including short-term employment, some weeks of voluntary part-time work, or a family structure that increases the risk of poverty.