poverty line

noun

: a level of personal or family income below which one is classified as poor according to governmental standards

called also poverty level

Examples of poverty line in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Texas has about 888,000 extremely low-income renter households who are either at or below the federal poverty line or 30% of their area’s median income. —Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 5 Mar. 2026

Sacramento County’s program has a limit of 400% of the federal poverty line, and Contra Costa County’s program has a 300% income limit. —Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026

Around 30% of the people in the nation of more than 108 million lives in below poverty line, according to the latest government figures. —ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026

Families earning about $128,000 a year, or more than 400% of the federal poverty line, have been especially hit hard. —The Week Us, TheWeek, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for poverty line

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