poverty line
noun
: a level of personal or family income below which one is classified as poor according to governmental standards
called also poverty level
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web That compares with New Haven’s 17% of all Connecticut cases, and 26.5% of residents below the poverty line. 
Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2022 According to the same report, 19% of the population lives below the poverty line. Olivia Osteen, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2022 And almost a third of Tuva’s population lives below the poverty line, meaning their earnings are below the nation’s recommended average monthly subsistence income of 11,908 rubles, around $196. Ann M. Simmons, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 There are tens of thousands of low-income people who probably meet the eligibility requirements for housing vouchers in Baltimore, where one-fifth of residents live below the poverty line. Giacomo Bologna, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2022 Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation, with 18.7% of residents living below the poverty line -- but in Jackson, that figure is higher still at 24.5%. Priya Krishnakumar, CNN, 2 Sep. 2022 One in four Native Americans lives below the poverty line, The New York Times reports. Joel Mathis, The Week, 2 Sep. 2022 Dixmoor is a predominantly Black and Latino community, with 20% of its residents living below the poverty line, according to 2010 census data. Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2022 The slashing of foreign aid, along with U.S. sanctions and the seizure of the Afghan central bank’s assets, has shrunk the nation’s economy by a third, plunging all but 3% of Afghanistan’s 40 million people below the poverty line, aid groups say. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2022 See More
Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2022 According to the same report, 19% of the population lives below the poverty line. Olivia Osteen, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2022 And almost a third of Tuva’s population lives below the poverty line, meaning their earnings are below the nation’s recommended average monthly subsistence income of 11,908 rubles, around $196. Ann M. Simmons, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 There are tens of thousands of low-income people who probably meet the eligibility requirements for housing vouchers in Baltimore, where one-fifth of residents live below the poverty line. Giacomo Bologna, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2022 Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation, with 18.7% of residents living below the poverty line -- but in Jackson, that figure is higher still at 24.5%. Priya Krishnakumar, CNN, 2 Sep. 2022 One in four Native Americans lives below the poverty line, The New York Times reports. Joel Mathis, The Week, 2 Sep. 2022 Dixmoor is a predominantly Black and Latino community, with 20% of its residents living below the poverty line, according to 2010 census data. Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2022 The slashing of foreign aid, along with U.S. sanctions and the seizure of the Afghan central bank’s assets, has shrunk the nation’s economy by a third, plunging all but 3% of Afghanistan’s 40 million people below the poverty line, aid groups say. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1901, in the meaning defined above