Share of the population living in poverty by race in the United States 1959-2022
In contrast, Black Americans were the ethnic group with the highest share of their population living in poverty in almost every year since 1974. In 1979 alone, Black poverty was well over double the national average, and over four times the poverty rate in white communities; in 1982, almost 48 percent of the Black population lived in poverty. Although poverty rates have been trending downward across all ethnic groups, 17 percent of Black Americans and 20 percent of American Indian and Alaskan Natives still lived below the poverty line in 2022.