Poverty - Women in United States

United States

Poverty is associated with adverse health outcomes. It influences environmental exposures and health-related behaviors, and is linked to increased risk of mortality and chronic disease.

Women with household incomes below the federal poverty level frequently face barriers to consistently affording essential needs such as stable housing, health insurance and food. Additional negative implications of poverty among women include increased risk of trafficking and lower rates of physical activity.

The financial cost of poverty can accumulate over time and become cyclical. Households with limited income allocate a larger share of earnings to basic necessities, making it difficult to accrue wealth, and may be forced to rely on high-interest predatory lending options that increase debt burdens.

According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the poverty rate among women ages 18-44 is higher among American Indian/Alaska Native and Black women compared with Asian and white women.

Additional research indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) women experience higher rates of poverty than men and women who are straight and cisgender.

Strategies such as closing the gender wage gap and evaluating universal basic income models have been proposed to reduce poverty among women. Various government programs are available to assist and support women in poverty:

• The earned income tax credit (EITC) program provides a tax break to low-income employed families and individuals living in poverty. The amount of credit is based on income, marital status and number of children.
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, provides nutrition benefits to help households in need afford nutritious food.
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides additional food and nutritional support for pregnant and postpartum women and children. 
• Medicaid provides health care coverage to low-income adults, pregnant women and children.
• The Child Tax Credit assists low-income families with affording necessities such as food, child care, rent and mortgage.

Healthy People 2030 tracks different objectives related to economic stability, including reducing the proportion of people living in poverty.

Avanceña, Anton L. V., Ellen Kim DeLuca, Bradley Iott, Amanda Mauri, Nicholas Miller, Daniel Eisenberg, and David W. Hutton. “Income and Income Inequality Are a Matter of Life and Death. What Can Policymakers Do About It?” American Journal of Public Health 111, no. 8 (August 2021): 1404–8. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306301.

Coan, Tori, and Jessica Mason. America’s Women and the Wage Gap. Fact Sheet. National Partnership for Women & Families, March 2026. https://nationalpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf.

Doan, Tinh, Peng Yu, Lyndall Strazdins, Christine LaBond, and Cathy Gong. “Time for Physical Activity: Different, Unequal, Gendered.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 63, no. 1 (March 3, 2022): 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221465211028910.

Franchino-Olsen, Hannabeth. “Vulnerabilities Relevant for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children/Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: A Systematic Review of Risk Factors.” Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 22, no. 1 (January 2021): 99–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018821956.

Khullar, Dhruv, and Dave A. Chokshi. Health, Income, & Poverty: Where We Are & What Could Help. Health Affairs Health Policy Brief, October 4, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1377/hpb20180817.901935.

Kraft, Pål, and Brage Kraft. “Explaining Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Behaviours: A Review of Biopsychological Pathways Involving Stress and Inflammation.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 127 (2021): 698–708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.019.

Sun, Shengwei. National Snapshot: Poverty Among Women & Families. Fact Sheet. Washington, D.C.: National Women’s Law Center, January 2023. https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023_nwlc_PovertySnapshot-converted.pdf.

The High Cost of Being Poor in the U.S.: Anti-Poverty Programs Help Alleviate Costs, But More Must Be Done to Reduce Burdens. Washington, D.C.: Coalition on Human Needs, September 20, 2016. https://www.chn.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Final-CHN-Natl-Census-Poverty-Report-9.20.16.pdf.

Wilson, Bianca D.M., Andy Lin, and Lauren J.A. Bouton. “Psychological and Social Predictors of Poverty: Differences Between Lesbian and Bisexual Women.” Women’s Health Issues 35, no. 1 (January 2025): 28–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2024.10.004.