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Mapped: The Number of People in Poverty in U.S. Cities
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Key Takeaways
- New York City has the highest absolute number of people living under the poverty line across U.S. cities, which stood at an income of $16,320 for a single person in 2024.
- Los Angeles follows next, at 1.6 million, driven by rising unaffordability and housing scarcity.
Poverty in U.S. cities has worsened in recent years, as inflation has meaningfully impacted the ability to make ends meet for thousands of people.
This map shows the number of people living in poverty in 2024 across the 25 largest U.S. metros, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
2.5 Million New Yorkers Live in Poverty
In 2024, 13% of New York City’s population lived in poverty reaching 2.5 million people, the highest number overall—exacerbated by limited housing supply.
Making matters worse, poverty has increased since pandemic-era relief expired, with many who live in poverty employed. Not only that, 26% of children in New York City lived in poverty in 2023, a separate analysis shows.
| Metro area | Below Poverty in 2024 | Share of Population in Poverty in 2024 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 2,457,925 | 13 |
| Los Angeles | 1,577,387 | 12 |
| Houston | 1,105,434 | 14 |
| Chicago | 1,026,928 | 11 |
| Miami | 799,450 | 13 |
| Dallas | 810,781 | 10 |
| Philadelphia | 668,882 | 11 |
| Atlanta | 633,704 | 10 |
| Detroit | 616,000 | 14 |
| Phoenix | 511,081 | 10 |
| Washington, DC | 523,232 | 8 |
| Riverside | 523,048 | 11 |
| Boston | 427,347 | 9 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | 410,458 | 9 |
| Tampa Bay | 370,361 | 11 |
| Seattle | 356,233 | 9 |
| San Antonio | 359,681 | 13 |
| Orlando | 320,137 | 12 |
| San Diego | 331,553 | 10 |
| Minneapolis–St. Paul | 291,615 | 8 |
| Charlotte | 306,303 | 10 |
| St. Louis | 285,467 | 10 |
| Baltimore | 257,321 | 9 |
| Denver | 256,162 | 9 |
| Austin | 229,736 | 9 |
Ranking in second is Los Angeles, with 1.6 million living in poverty, or about 900,000 fewer than New York City.
Yet across California, 187,100 people are homeless, the highest in America, exceeding New York by approximately 30,000. While California is an economic powerhouse, it also faces chronic poverty driven by high costs of living and the highest unemployment rate in the country.
With 1.1 million people in poverty, Houston follows next. Notably, 14% of the city’s population is impoverished, falling at similar levels as Detroit—the U.S. city with the ninth-biggest impoverished population overall.
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To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on poverty rates in Europe in 2024.