What Is the Federal Poverty Level? 2026 Chart and Food Aid Limits

Quick answer: The federal poverty level (FPL) is the everyday name for the poverty guidelines the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) publishes each January. For 2026 it is $15,960 a year for one person and $33,000 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C.¹ Food programs set their income limits as a percent of these figures, so use the tables below with our eligibility guide to see which programs fit your household.

HHS updates the guidelines for inflation every year. The 2026 figures reflect a 2.63 percent price increase between 2024 and 2025 and took effect January 13, 2026, unless a program set its own start date.¹

What is the federal poverty level for 2026?

The amount depends on how many people live in your household and where you live. Alaska and Hawaii have their own, higher figures.¹

Household size	48 states + D.C.	Alaska	Hawaii
1	$15,960	$19,950	$18,360
2	$21,640	$27,050	$24,890
3	$27,320	$34,150	$31,420
4	$33,000	$41,250	$37,950
5	$38,680	$48,350	$44,480
6	$44,360	$55,450	$51,010
7	$50,040	$62,550	$57,540
8	$55,720	$69,650	$64,070
Each extra person	+$5,680	+$7,100	+$6,530

Annual income, 2026 HHS poverty guidelines, as of October 18, 2026. Source: HHS Federal Register notice.¹

Some online summaries list the extra-person amounts for Alaska and Hawaii as $6,420 and $5,910. The 2026 notice says $7,100 and $6,530.¹

Federal poverty level calculator: what percent of FPL is your income?

Divide your yearly income by the figure for your household size, then multiply by 100. A family of four earning $45,000 in Ohio is at about 136% of the guideline, because $45,000 ÷ $33,000 = 1.36.¹ Or enter your numbers here:

People in household Income before taxes ($) Income is per Where you live

Enter your income to see your percent of the 2026 guideline.

Estimate only. Each program decides what income counts and who is in your household.

What is 200% of the federal poverty level?

In 2026, 200% of the federal poverty level is $31,920 a year for one person and $66,000 for a family of four in the 48 states and D.C. That is double the base guideline.¹ Programs usually compare monthly income, so here are the common cutoffs by month.

Household size	130% a month	185% a month	200% a month
1	$1,729	$2,461	$2,660
2	$2,345	$3,337	$3,607
3	$2,960	$4,212	$4,554
4	$3,575	$5,088	$5,500
5	$4,191	$5,964	$6,447
6	$4,806	$6,839	$7,394
7	$5,421	$7,715	$8,340
8	$6,037	$8,591	$9,287
Each extra person	+$616	+$876	+$947

48 states and D.C., as of October 18, 2026. The 130% column is USDA's SNAP gross limit⁴ and the 185% column is USDA's WIC maximum.⁵ The 200% column is PantryPath's math: the 2026 guideline × 2 ÷ 12, rounded up.¹

Which food programs use the federal poverty level?

Most federal food programs do, each with its own percent and its own start date for new figures. HHS lists SNAP, WIC, school meals, Summer EBT, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) among them.³

Program	Income limit	When 2026 figures apply
SNAP (food stamps)	Gross 130%, net 100%⁴	Oct. 1, 2026 to Sept. 30, 2027
WIC	State sets it between 100% and 185%⁵	July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027
School meals and Summer EBT	Free 130%, reduced-price 185%⁶	July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027
CSFP senior food box (60+)	Up to 150%⁷	As soon as USDA sends states the update
TEFAP foods at pantries	State cap between 185% and 300%⁸	Set by your state

SNAP

Most households must pass both tests: gross income at or under 130% and net income, after deductions, at or under 100%. For one person that means $1,729 gross and $1,330 net a month; for four, $3,575 and $2,750.⁴ A household with an elderly or disabled member only has to meet the net limit, and most states use broad-based categorical eligibility, which can raise the gross limit.⁴ State-by-state rules are on our SNAP guide, and the full math is in our SNAP eligibility guide.

WIC

Federal rules cap WIC at 185% of the guidelines and do not let a state go below 100%. At 185%, a family of four can earn up to $61,050 a year, or $5,088 a month.⁵ See the WIC guide for your state's limits and how to apply.

School meals and Summer EBT

Children qualify for free meals at 130% and reduced-price meals at 185%. The same guidelines set eligibility for Summer EBT.⁶ For a family of four, that is $42,900 a year for free meals and $61,050 for reduced-price, using the 2026 guideline of $33,000.¹ More on applying is in our school meals guide.

CSFP and TEFAP at food pantries

The senior food box goes to people 60 and older with household income at or under 150%, counted before taxes.⁷ For TEFAP, the USDA Foods many pantries hand out, each state picks a cap between 185% and 300%. Federal rules also bar using length of residency, an address or ID documents as a condition for TEFAP foods.⁸ Details are on our CSFP and TEFAP pages.

Many pantries also run on donated food with their own rules. In PantryPath's directory, 1,861 of 7,566 confirmed listings (about 1 in 4) note an income threshold, and 3,547 (47%) note a residency requirement.⁹ If you are unsure what to bring, read what ID food pantries ask for.

What is the difference between poverty guidelines and poverty thresholds?

The Census Bureau's poverty thresholds count how many people are in poverty. HHS's poverty guidelines decide who qualifies for programs.³ The guidelines are a simplified version of the thresholds.¹

Thresholds vary by family size, number of children and, for one- and two-person homes, whether someone is 65 or older. They are the same in all 50 states.³
Guidelines vary only by household size, with separate figures for Alaska and Hawaii. HHS rounds them and keeps an equal step between sizes.³
"Federal poverty level" is the common name for the guidelines. ASPE, the HHS office that calculates them, calls the phrase ambiguous.²

The first thresholds came from Mollie Orshansky of the Social Security Administration in 1963 and 1964. She multiplied the cost of a USDA economy food plan by three, because a 1955 USDA survey found food took about a third of after-tax income for families of three or more.³ That calculation was done once. Since then the figures have only been adjusted for prices, and ASPE notes the food share no longer matches how people spend today.³

One 2026 quirk: the October 2025 government shutdown meant no Consumer Price Index for that month, so HHS averaged the 11 months it had.² For poverty rates by county and state, see our rural poverty atlas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the federal poverty level based on gross income?

The guidelines don't say. HHS leaves the definition of income and household to each program.¹ SNAP checks both gross and net income,⁴ while CSFP counts gross income before taxes.⁷

Is Social Security included in the federal poverty level?

It depends on the program. SNAP counts Social Security as income; USDA's own worked example adds $550 in Social Security to wages.⁴ For Medicaid and Marketplace savings, HealthCare.gov counts non-taxable Social Security benefits but not Supplemental Security Income (SSI).¹⁰

Is $40,000 a year considered poverty?

Not by the federal guideline for a household of five or fewer. For a family of four, $40,000 is about 121% of the 2026 guideline of $33,000.¹ That is about $3,333 a month, under SNAP's gross limit of $3,575 for four, so the family could still pass SNAP's first test.⁴

What is 138% of the federal poverty level?

It is the Medicaid cutoff in states that expanded Medicaid.¹⁰ In 2026 that works out to $22,025 a year for one person and $45,540 for four.¹ HealthCare.gov uses 2026 figures for Medicaid and CHIP, but the prior year's figures for Marketplace savings, which it lists for incomes from 100% to 400%.¹⁰

What is 125% of the federal poverty guidelines?

It is the minimum income most sponsors need on the I-864 Affidavit of Support for immigrants. Under the chart in effect since March 1, 2026, that is $27,050 for a household of two and $41,250 for four.¹¹

Is the poverty line different in each state?

Only in Alaska and Hawaii. The guidelines are the same in the other 48 states and D.C., so the poverty line in Texas, Florida or California is $15,960 for one person.³ What differs by state is the percent each program uses, such as a state's TEFAP cap.⁸

When will the 2027 poverty guidelines come out?

Expect them in January 2027. HHS publishes the guidelines each January after the December inflation figures come out,³ and the 2026 notice appeared on January 15, 2026.¹ Programs then phase them in on their own dates, such as July 1 for WIC and school meals.⁶

How we checked this

On October 18, 2026, we read the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines notice in the Federal Register and ASPE's guidelines page and FAQ. We checked each food program's limits against its primary source. For SNAP that was USDA's eligibility page for October 2026 through September 2027. For WIC and school meals it was the 2026–2027 notices, and for CSFP and TEFAP the eCFR text. The Medicaid and immigration answers come from HealthCare.gov and USCIS.

The 200% column, the 138% and school meal dollar figures, and the calculator are PantryPath's arithmetic from the HHS figures,¹ rounded up to the next dollar the way USDA rounds.⁶ Programs round and count income in their own ways, so your agency's number can differ by a dollar or two. Directory figures come from PantryPath's 7,566 confirmed listings, queried the same day.

Your next step: check the programs that match your household on our eligibility guide, then find a food pantry to get food while you wait.