U.S. Census Bureau to re-release supplemental poverty estimates after BLS threshold revisions
A revision to federal poverty statistics is underway after methodology errors were identified in thresholds used for the Supplemental Poverty Measure. The update covers estimates from 2019 through 2024 and comes ahead of the annual poverty report due in September.
Highlights
- The U.S. Census Bureau will re-release Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) estimates for 2019 to 2024 due to BLS revised thresholds announced today.
- Methodology changes at BLS in 2021 impacted the 2019 and 2020 SPM estimates, prompting recalculated figures to be published before September's annual poverty report.
- Revisions to BLS SPM thresholds affect poverty measurement across regions and household types, with full impact analysis forthcoming from the Census Bureau.
Revised thresholds reset poverty data timeline
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the recalculation follows an official statement from the U.S. Census Bureau, which says it plans to re-release Supplemental Poverty Measure, or SPM, estimates for 2019 to 2024 after the Bureau of Labor Statistics published revised thresholds for those years.The errors stem from methodology changes introduced in 2021 at BLS, which produces the experimental thresholds used by the Census Bureau for the SPM. Those changes affected the 2019 and 2020 SPM estimates, and the revised thresholds published today are set to be used in updated figures that will appear in a working paper before the September release of the annual poverty report.
Broader implications for poverty analysis
The Census Bureau produces two poverty measures each year, the Official Poverty Measure and the SPM. The official measure compares money income with a national threshold adjusted for family composition, while the SPM uses a broader post-tax and transfer view of resources that includes noncash government benefits and subtracts taxes and necessary expenses such as work, childcare and medical costs.Because SPM thresholds vary by family composition, housing tenure and geography, revisions to the BLS calculations can affect how poverty is measured across regions and household types. The Census Bureau says more information on the impact of the revised thresholds on SPM rates will be provided in the coming weeks.
In our earlier coverage of U.S. housing affordability, we examined how price-to-rent ratios across major cities show where renting is financially safer than buying, and where homeownership offers better value. The analysis highlighted wide regional gaps driven by factors such as migration patterns, rising borrowing costs, and rent dynamics—pressures that can significantly influence household budgets and cost-of-living comparisons.
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