The U.S. Census Bureau has released the 2024 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), providing updated statistics on income and poverty for all 3,143 counties and 13,126 school districts in the United States. According to the data, the median estimated poverty rate for children ages 5 to 17 in school districts was 12.5% in 2024.
These SAIPE figures are used by federal agencies to allocate funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. School districts receive Title I funds based on both the number and percentage of children from low-income families. The U.S. Department of Education plans to 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.
County-level median household income in 2024 ranged from $34,802 to $177,457, with a median value of $66,757 across all counties. From 2023 to 2024, median household income increased in about one-tenth of counties while decreasing in less than two percent.
Poverty rates at the county level varied widely as well, ranging from 3.8% to as high as 55.7%, with a median rate of 13.2%. The data show that poverty rates decreased in approximately four-and-a-half percent of counties but rose slightly in nearly two percent between years.
For school-age children specifically (ages 5 to 17), county-level poverty rates ranged from a low of 2.4% up to a high of nearly three-quarters at some locations, with a median rate recorded at just over sixteen percent.
Additional tables released by the Census Bureau offer detailed breakdowns including statistics on median household income; numbers of people living below the poverty line; counts for children under age five experiencing poverty at state levels; numbers for children aged five through seventeen living in families below poverty thresholds; as well as figures for those younger than eighteen living in poverty overall. At the school district level, estimates include total population figures along with counts for children aged five through seventeen—both overall and specifically those living within families experiencing poverty.
The SAIPE program relies on statistical model-based methods drawing from sample surveys, decennial census data, and various administrative sources.
For more information about how these estimates are developed or applied visit SAIPE methodology.
