Percentage of Persons Living in Poverty by Year, New Mexico and U.S., 1995 to 2023
Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
Poverty takes into account both income and family size, and has both immediate and long-lasting effects on health. Income provides an assessment of the financial resources available to individual persons or families for basic necessities (e.g., food, clothing, and health care) to maintain or improve their well-being. Persons living in poverty are worse off than persons in more affluent households for many of the indicators tracked by the New Mexico Department of Health.

Definition
The estimated percentage of persons living in households whose income is at or below the federal poverty level. Poverty status is determined by comparing household income to poverty thresholds (income cutoffs). Thresholds vary by family size and number of children under 18 in the household. For instance, the poverty level for a family of four in 2023 is $32,150. For more information, see [https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines].
Data Notes
Percentages in poverty are from U.S. Census Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE). 95% confidence intervals were calculated from the SAIPE 90% confidence intervals. Statewide totals and percentages will differ between estimates made using U.S. Census SAIPE and ACS values, due to rounding differences and dissimilar methodologies.Data Source
U.S. Census Bureau, Data Integration Division, Small Area Estimates Branch, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE)(https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe.html)
How the Measure is Calculated
Numerator: | Estimated number of persons living in households whose income is below 100% of the federal poverty level as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. |
Denominator: | Estimated number of persons in the population. |
Health Topic Pages Related to: Population Demographic Characteristics - Poverty Among All Persons
Community Health Resources and Links
- Healthy People 2030 Website
- The Guide to Community Preventive Services
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
- County Health Rankings
- Kaiser Family Foundation's StateHealthFacts
Medical literature can be queried at the PubMed website.