How many people are living in poverty in Kansas?

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Federal officials have released a new report on national poverty statistics which shows how many people are living in or near poverty in Kansas.

The U.S. Census Bureau (USCB) recently published its “Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2024” study on Sept. 11. The new publication draws from the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates to compare poverty numbers from 2023 to 2024.

The USCB determined how many people were living below or near their respective poverty thresholds during the 2023-2024 time frame. Indicators such as “below poverty” and “near poverty” are used to classify percentages of people each state. The federal poverty level (FPL) for a family of four in 2025 is $32,150, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“Poverty status is determined by comparing annual income to a set of dollar values (called poverty thresholds) that vary by family size, number of children, and the age of the householder. If a family’s before-tax money income is less than the dollar value of their threshold, then that family and every individual in it are considered to be in poverty.”
USCB report excerpt

Kansas had a total of 319,652 people living in poverty in 2023 or around 11.2% of the population, according to the USCB. This number dropped slightly the following year to 313,235 or 10.9%. The national poverty rate for 2023 was 11.1% and fell in 2024 to 10.6%.

The USCB also based its results on income-to-poverty ratios in its report. Ratios below 1.0 show a family is in poverty while ratios at or above 1.0 show a family has income above the poverty threshold but is still considered near poverty.

• Kansas income-to-poverty ratio.
  • Less than 0.50 – 5.1%.
  • 0.50 to 0.99 – 5.8%.
  • 1.00 to 1.24 – 3.6%.
  • 1.25 to 1.49 – 3.9%.
  • 1.50 to 1.99 – 8.3%.
  • 2.00 – 3.99 – 32.3%.
  • 4.00 and over – 41%.

Nationally, the percentage of people living near poverty ranged from 1.8% at the lowest up to 5.1% at the highest, according to the USCB. States with the lowest number of people living near poverty include New Hampshire and Connecticut while states like Arkansas and Louisiana have the highest numbers.

You can read through the full report down below. To download a copy from the USCB website, click here.

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