Population in poverty

Washington Percent of Population in Poverty

Age Group Percent in Poverty
All Ages 10.2%
Age 0-17 12.6%
Age 18-64 10.0%
Age 65+ 7.5%

By Age Group, 1969-2020

Related Maps

  • The statewide poverty rate for the total population displayed almost no change over the 1990s, but spiked more recently because of the recession.
  • Washington's elderly population is the only group to show a significant long-term decline in poverty. In 1969, 23.0% of the elderly, more than one in five, lived in poverty. By 2019, following national trends, this percentage was 7.5%. The long-term decrease in poverty among persons age 65 and over is due to the expansion of Social Security and Medicare benefits and indexing those benefits io inflation.

Data source:

E-mail: OFM.Forecasting@ofm.wa.gov

Last updated
Friday, August 12, 2022
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.