The inability to meet basic human needs, such as food, shelter, and avoidance of disease.

Poverty thresholds are updated each year by the Census Bureau and used for calculating all official poverty population statistics. Poverty guidelines are issued each year by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The guidelines are a simplification of the poverty thresholds for use for administrative purposes - for instance, determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs (https://aspe.hhs.gov/2021-poverty-guidelines).

A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level.