The U.S. Census Bureau has released the 2024 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), providing updated income and poverty statistics for all states, counties, and school districts in the United States. The data show that the median estimated poverty rate among children ages 5 to 17 in school districts was 12.5% in 2024.
These SAIPE figures are used to determine funding allocations under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Title I funds are distributed to school districts based on the number and percentage of children from low-income families. The U.S. Department of Education will use these estimates to calculate fiscal year 2027 funding for states and school districts during the 2026-2027 academic year for Title I and other federal education programs.
In terms of household income, county-level median values ranged from $34,802 to $177,457 in 2024, with a national median of $66,757 across all counties. Median household income increased in 10.1% of counties while it decreased in 1.8% from 2023 to 2024.
County-level poverty rates ranged between 3.8% and 55.7%, with a median rate of 13.2%. Between 2023 and 2024, poverty rates fell in 4.5% of counties but rose in 1.9%. For school-age children specifically, county-level poverty rates varied from 2.4% to as high as 76.7%, with a median rate of 16.1%.
Additional tables released by the Census Bureau include data on median household income; numbers of people living in poverty across all age groups; numbers of young children under age five living in poverty at the state level; numbers of children ages five to seventeen living in families below the poverty line; and numbers of children under eighteen living in poverty. At the school district level, estimates cover total population, number of children ages five to seventeen, and those within that group living in families below the poverty threshold.
According to the Census Bureau, “SAIPE program estimates are produced by statistical model-based methods using sample survey, decennial census, and administrative data sources.” Further details about methodology can be found on their website.
