What Is the Federal Poverty Line: Amounts and Eligibility

For 2026, the federal poverty line is $15,960 a year for a single person and $33,000 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.¹ The Department of Health and Human Services publishes these figures each January, and federal programs like Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP, and Marketplace subsidies use them — or a percentage of them — to decide who qualifies.²

2026 Poverty Guideline Amounts

The figures below apply to the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. They also apply to Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.³

Household Size	Annual Income (100% FPL)
1	$15,960
2	$21,640
3	$27,320
4	$33,000
5	$38,680
6	$44,360
7	$50,040
8	$55,720
Each additional person	+$5,680

For households larger than eight, add $5,680 for each additional member.⁴

Many programs set their cutoffs at a multiple of these figures rather than at 100 percent. As a reference point, 200 percent of the poverty line for a family of four in 2026 is $66,000, and 400 percent is roughly $132,000.⁴

Higher Amounts for Alaska and Hawaii

Alaska and Hawaii have separate, higher guidelines to reflect their higher cost of living.² A family there can earn more than a family in the lower 48 and still qualify for programs that key off the poverty line.

Location	1 Person	4 Persons	Each Additional Person
48 states + D.C.	$15,960	$33,000	+$5,680
Alaska	$19,950	$41,250	+$7,100
Hawaii	$18,360	$37,950	+$6,530

What the Poverty Line Means for Program Eligibility

Most people who look up the poverty line are trying to figure out whether they qualify for something. The line itself is rarely the cutoff. Each program picks its own percentage of the guidelines, and some layer additional rules on top of the income test. Qualifying for one program does not mean you qualify for another.

Health Coverage

In states that adopted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, adults with household income up to 138 percent of the poverty guidelines can qualify for Medicaid.⁵ The statute sets the threshold at 133 percent, but a built-in 5-percent income disregard effectively raises the cutoff to 138 percent.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) covers children in families that earn too much for Medicaid but too little to afford private coverage. Federal law defines a “low-income child” as one whose family income is at or below 200 percent of the poverty line.⁶ Many states set their CHIP ceilings higher, from 170 percent up to 400 percent of the FPL depending on the state.⁷

Buying coverage through the ACA Marketplace, you may qualify for premium tax credits if your household income falls between 100 percent and 400 percent of the poverty guidelines.⁸ For a family of four in 2026, that range runs from about $33,000 to $132,000.⁴

Food and Nutrition

SNAP generally requires a household’s gross monthly income to fall at or below 130 percent of the poverty guidelines, along with a net income test at 100 percent after certain deductions.⁹ For a family of four in 2026, the gross monthly limit is $3,483.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) sets its income ceiling at 185 percent of the poverty guidelines, measured against gross income.¹⁰

Other Common Programs

Head Start serves children from families with income below 100 percent of the poverty guidelines.¹¹ The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps with heating and cooling bills, generally at 150 percent of the guidelines, though states may use 60 percent of state median income when that figure is higher.¹² The Community Services Block Grant, certain USCIS fee waivers, and Legal Services Corporation–funded legal aid programs also use the guidelines as their starting point.

What Counts as Income

The poverty guidelines measure total cash received before taxes. That includes wages, salaries, self-employment earnings, Social Security benefits, unemployment compensation, pensions, interest, dividends, rental income, child support, and veterans’ payments.¹³

Several things are not counted:

Non-cash benefits such as SNAP, housing subsidies, and Medicaid.
Capital gains and losses from selling investments.
Refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Individual programs may define income slightly differently. Some count only the income of the people applying; others count everyone in the household. When you apply, that program’s own rules control which income sources are included.

Guidelines vs. Thresholds

Two different federal poverty figures get published each year, and only one determines whether you qualify for aid. The HHS poverty guidelines — the numbers in the tables above — are what agencies use for program eligibility, authorized under 42 U.S.C. 9902(2), and they vary only by household size and geography.² The Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds are a more detailed statistical tool used to count how many Americans live in poverty, and they are not used to decide who gets benefits.¹³ When people say “federal poverty level” or “FPL,” they almost always mean the HHS guidelines.

1
ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines Computations
2
Federal Register. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines
3
USCIS. Poverty Guidelines
4
ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
5
HealthCare.gov. Medicaid Expansion and What It Means for You
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1397jj – Definitions
7
Medicaid.gov. CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment
8
HealthCare.gov. Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
9
Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. SNAP Eligibility – Section: What Are the SNAP Income Limits?
10
Food and Nutrition Service. WIC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Section: Who Is Eligible?
11
HeadStart.gov. Poverty Guidelines and Determining Eligibility for Participation in Head Start Programs
12
LIHEAP Clearinghouse. LIHEAP Income Eligibility for States and Territories
13
United States Census Bureau. How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty – Section: Poverty Thresholds: Measure of Need