What is the poverty rate in Texas?
Refreshed monthly
The poverty rate was about 13.4% of Texas’s population as of 2024. The poverty rate is the percentage of people whose household income falls below the poverty threshold set by the government. It measures the percentage of people in households that don’t earn enough to pay for basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare. In 2024, 4,108,899 people in Texas were considered in poverty.
13.4%
of the population (2024)
4.11M
people living under the poverty line (2024)
The state's poverty rate was 13.4% in 2024, the lowest based on data from the American Community Survey dating back to 2010. It was 0.3 percentage points lower than the previous year. Texas's poverty rate hit a peak in 2011 of 18.5%.
In 2024, 13.4% of Texas's population were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate, 2010–2024
While the poverty rate shows the overall trend, the total number matters because many aid programs and funding decisions are based on how many people are in poverty, not just the percentage. In 2024, 4,108,899 people living in Texas were in poverty — down 11.2% from the 2011 peak of 4,628,758.
In 2024, 4.11M people in Texas were in poverty.
People living under poverty line, 2010–2024
Poverty doesn’t affect all groups equally. Rates vary widely by demographic group, family type and location.
What is the child poverty rate in Texas?
From 2014 to 2024, the poverty rate for children under 18 in Texas decreased from 24.6% to 17.9%. During the same period, the poverty rate for adults under 65 years decreased from 15.1% to 11.9%. For those older than 65, the poverty rate increased from 10.9% to 12.3%.
In 2024, 17.9% of children in Texas were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate by age group, 2014–2024
How does poverty differ by race in Texas?
Among racial or ethnic groups in Texas during 2024, six had a higher poverty rate than the state’s overall rate: American Indian and Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race), Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, some other race, and two or more races.
Two had a lower than average poverty rate: Asian; and White alone, not Hispanic or Latino.
Over the previous ten years, the poverty rate for the Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) population in Texas shifted the most, decreasing from 24.9% in 2014 to 17.8% in 2024.
In Texas, the poverty rate for the Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) population decreased from 24.9% in 2014 to 17.8% in 2024.
Poverty rate by race or ethnicity, 2014–2024
What counties in Texas have the highest and lowest poverty rates?
In 2019-2023, the poverty rate among Texas counties ranged from 2.7% in Sterling County to 44.8% in Dimmit County. The poverty rate in the state’s largest county — Harris County — was 15.9%.
In 2019-2023, the poverty rate among Texas counties ranged from 2.7% to 44.8%.
Poverty rate
Poverty rate, by county (2023)
| 1. | Dimmit County | 44.8% |
| 2. | Zapata County | 37.4% |
| 3. | Presidio County | 36.3% |
| 4. | Zavala County | 36.3% |
| 5. | Starr County | 33.5% |
| 6. | Jim Hogg County | 31.4% |
| 7. | Jeff Davis County | 31.2% |
| 8. | Brooks County | 30.7% |
| 9. | Swisher County | 29.5% |
| 10. | Duval County | 29.0% |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
