Below 200% Poverty Level

Black and American Indian/Alaska Native people are more than twice as likely to live in or near poverty than the King County average.

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From 2018-2022, 17.7% of King County residents had a household income less than 200% of the federal poverty level. In 2022, this would have been an annual income of less than $55,500 for a family of four including two children. 

• Age: Young adults between the ages of 18-24 years (31.7%) were more likely to have a household income less than 200% of the federal poverty level, the highest in comparison to all other age groups. At 24.3%, adults ages 75 and older were more likely to have an income below 200% of the federal poverty level than adults ages 25-74.  

• Gender: Women were more likely to have an income less than 200% of the federal poverty level than men (19.4% and 16.3% respectively). Groups that are impacted the most by the wage gap include women and people of color.  

• Race: American Indian/Alaska Native (41.1%), Black/African American (38.6%), Hispanic/Latinx (31.1%), and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (30.7%) people were more likely to have an income less than 200% of the federal poverty level compared to the King County average, suggesting these groups disproportionately experience income inequality.  

• Disability: People with a disability (33.8%) were about twice as likely to have an income less than 200% of the federal poverty level than people without a disability (16.0%). 

• Region and city/neighborhood: People residing in South King County had the highest rate of having a household income of less than 200% of the federal poverty level (22.6%) compared to all other regions. People residing in East King County had the lowest rate of being in or near poverty (10.6%). Among cities and neighborhoods, Seattle – University District (54.3%) and West Kent (38.3%) experienced the highest rates of people in households with an income less than 200% of the federal poverty level, while Sammamish had the lowest rate (6.0%).  

• Trends: The proportion of King County residents with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level decreased from 2013 to 2019, then increased from 2019 to 2021. Overall, Washington State experienced a collective decrease from 2013 to 2022.