25 Facts of Life the Federal Poverty Rate Completely Ignores

There are over 1.5 million Americans currently incarcerated in state or federal prisons, but they are not counted as part of the official poverty estimate.

There are over 1.3 million members of the U.S. military in active duty. Anyone residing in military barracks is not accounted for in the official poverty estimate.

There are almost 20 million Americans attending colleges and universities in 2019, a large share of them living in college dorms, but those are not counted in the official poverty rate.

People living in group living facilities of any kind, including nursing homes, are not counted in the federal poverty measurement.

The single group facing the most economic distress, the nation’s homeless population, is not counted as part of the poverty rate. According to one estimate, over 500,000 Americans are homeless.