The U.S. poverty line for 2025 has been announced: an annual income of $15,650 or less for a single person is considered poor. For a household of four, an annual income of $32,150 or less is also below the poverty line.

Interestingly, the median household income is $75,580 - which is three times the poverty line. But life is tough for the poor: low-income households spend 41.2% of their income on rent (the average is only 33.8%), and food expenses are also over 30% higher.

The latest data shows that the poverty rate in 2023 is 11.1%, with 36.8 million people living below the poverty line. Social security is the biggest life jacket, directly lifting 27.6 million people out of poverty. However, the child poverty rate is rising, from 12.4% to 13.7%.

This wave of inflation indeed hits low-income households the hardest — every penny must be carefully budgeted, and entertainment spending is almost zero.