Child poverty rate in U.S. more than doubled in 2022
The child poverty rate in the United States more than doubled last year due to several possible factors, including the expiration of government benefits meant to get families through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The supplemental poverty measure rate for kids leapt from a record low of 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022, according to statistics released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy said that figure equates to 5.2 million more children living below the poverty line.
Child tax credits and payments to families impacted by the pandemic in 2020 led to “a substantial decrease in child poverty” in 2021, said Linda Fox, the Census Bureau assistant division chief. But federal expanded child tax credits, along with other related benefits, expired ...