Chart assignment
Charts to read and discuss
Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.
Chart 1 of 1 · Income and poverty
What share of people live in poverty in each state?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
In the Census Bureau's five-year survey ending in 2024, 12.5% of people in the U.S. lived below the official poverty line. Louisiana (18.9%) and Mississippi (18.9%) had the highest rates, and New Hampshire the lowest, 7.2%. The official poverty line is the same across the country, so it doesn't reflect higher living costs in some states.
Questions to discuss
- In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
- Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
- Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Public domain (U.S. government work). This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.) · Data as of Dec 31, 2024
Open the chart and its numbersTeachers: make your own chart assignment, or change this one. Free, no account needed.