The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the 2024 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), providing single-year income and poverty statistics for all 3,143 counties and 13,126 school districts in the United States.
According to the latest figures, the median estimated poverty rate for children ages 5 to 17 in U.S. school districts was 12.5% in 2024. The SAIPE data are used by federal agencies to allocate funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which supports school districts based on their number and percentage of children from low-income families. The U.S. Department of Education will use these estimates to determine fiscal year 2027 funding for states and school districts during the 2026-2027 academic year for Title I and other federal education programs.
The report also shows that county-level median household income in 2024 ranged from $34,802 to $177,457, with a national median of $66,757 across all counties. From 2023 to 2024, median household income increased in approximately one-tenth of counties while decreasing in less than two percent.
County-level poverty rates varied widely as well, ranging from 3.8% to 55.7%, with a median rate of 13.2%. Over the same period, poverty rates declined in about four-and-a-half percent of counties but rose in nearly two percent.
For school-age children (ages 5 to 17), county-level poverty rates ranged from a low of 2.4% up to a high of 76.7%, with a median rate at the county level standing at 16.1%.
Additional tables published by the Census Bureau provide further breakdowns on topics such as state-level statistics on median household income; numbers of people living in poverty; counts of children under age five or under age eighteen living below the poverty line; as well as district-level population estimates and counts related specifically to children aged five through seventeen.
The SAIPE program uses statistical model-based methods that incorporate sample survey data, decennial census information, and administrative records to produce its estimates.
“SAIPE data are used to allocate funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. School districts receive Title I funds based on their number and percentage of children from low-income families,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau statement.
“The U.S. Department of Education plans to use the 2024 estimates to calculate and provide fiscal year 2027 funding to states and school districts in the 2026-2027 school year for Title I and several other federal education programs,” said officials.
