More than 48 Million Fall Below US Poverty Line
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iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — More than 48 million Americans were living below the poverty line in 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau reports in its supplemental poverty measure.
The official poverty line was $23,283 last year for a family of four.
The supplemental poverty measure, as opposed to the national poverty rate, takes into account various benefits, expenses and resources faced by and available to families.
It also varies in cities and rural regions. For instance, the poverty line in major metro areas is $30,000 or above for a family of four because they have to pay more for housing, transportation and food.
The government says that certain entitlement programs, such as food stamps and Social Security, have helped to prevent another 13 million people from falling below the poverty line.
Meanwhile, last year’s poverty rate — 15.5 percent — was actually down from 0.5 percent from 2012.
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