PRESS RELEASE: NWLC Analysis Highlights Alarming Rise in Poverty for Women, Children, and Families

Washington, DC – Poverty rates continued to climb for women and families in 2023, following the end of key pandemic-era supports in 2021, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC). This increase comes as Republican leaders contemplate deep cuts to anti-poverty programs next year to fund tax breaks for billionaires and corporations.

“In the wake of rising poverty rates, Republicans are proposing cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in order to finance tax cuts for billionaires and corporations,” said Melissa Boteach, Vice President of Child Care and Income Security at NWLC. “Instead of saddling families with higher grocery bills and health care costs, our leaders should be investing in women and children.”

You can read the full report here: National Snapshot: Poverty Among Women & Families in 2023

Key Findings

The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) shows that poverty rates for women and families remained alarmingly high in 2023:

  • Poverty rates for single mothers soared from 11.9% in 2021 to 26.7% in 2022, and then rose again to 28.5% in 2023.
  • In 2023, 18.9% of Black women, 21.5% of Latina women, and 13.6% of Asian women lived in poverty, compared to 9.6% of white, non-Hispanic women and 8.8% of white, non-Hispanic men.
  • Child poverty rates more than doubled from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% in 2022—a record single-year increase—and rose further to 13.8% in 2023.

NWLC’s analysis finds significant racial disparities in income and poverty persisted in 2023:

  • While median household incomes rose for the first time since 2019, the gains disproportionately benefited white, non-Hispanic households, leaving Black and Latinx households behind
  • Under the official poverty measure (OPM), poverty rates declined for white, non-Hispanic children from 2022 to 2023 but increased for Black, Asian, and Latinx children.
    • Poverty for Black and Latinx children is more than double that of white children.

Earlier this year, NWLC published The Recovery Paradox: Women and Families Need More Support to Expand and Improve Economic Gains, a comprehensive report examining the mixed economic recovery for women and families. A two-page summary of the report can be found here.