The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the 2024 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), showing that the median estimated poverty rate for children ages 5 to 17 in U.S. school districts was 12.5% in 2024. The SAIPE program provides single-year income and poverty statistics for all 3,143 counties and 13,126 school districts across the United States.
These estimates are used to allocate federal funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which directs resources to school districts based on their number and percentage of children from low-income families. The U.S. Department of Education plans to use these figures to determine fiscal year 2027 funding for states and school districts during the 2026-2027 academic year.
According to the report, county-level median household income in 2024 ranged from $34,802 to $177,457, with a national median of $66,757. Between 2023 and 2024, median household income increased in about one-tenth of counties while it decreased in less than two percent.
County-level poverty rates varied widely, from a low of 3.8% to a high of 55.7%, with a median rate of 13.2%. Over the same period, poverty rates declined in just over four percent of counties but rose slightly in nearly two percent.
For school-age children (ages 5 to 17), county-level poverty rates ranged from as low as 2.4% up to nearly three-quarters at some locations (76.7%), with a median rate reported at 16.1%.
Additional tables released by the Census Bureau include information on state-level statistics such as median household income; numbers of people living in poverty; counts for children younger than age five or eighteen living below the poverty line; as well as district-level estimates for total population and numbers specific to children ages five through seventeen both overall and those living in families experiencing poverty.
SAIPE estimates are developed using statistical models that combine sample survey results with data from decennial censuses and administrative records. More details on how these figures are calculated can be found on the SAIPE methodology page.
