What was the 2024 federal poverty level for a family of four?

1. What the number means and where it comes from

The $31,200 figure is the 100% poverty guideline for a four-person household used by federal programs as a simplified “poverty guideline,” not the Census Bureau’s more complex poverty thresholds; HHS issues the guidelines each January after adjusting Census thresholds for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI‑U) ^{[1] [3] [4]}.

2. How agencies and programs use the guideline

Different programs apply the guideline differently: some use the 100% line directly, others use set percentages (e.g., 138%, 150%, 185%) to determine eligibility for Medicaid, CHIP, premium tax credits and other benefits; states and programs also define “income” and “family” for eligibility calculations, so program rules change how the guideline translates into real-world eligibility ^{[5] [4] [3]}.

3. Common multiples people should know (practical context)

Although 100% FPL is $31,200 for a four-person household, many program limits are expressed as percentages: for example, 138% of that 100% FPL equals $43,056 (an example used for Medicaid eligibility calculations), and state handouts/county tables list 150% and 185% levels commonly used for various benefits ^{[2] [6] [7]}.

4. Geographic caveat: Alaska, Hawaii, and territories

HHS publishes separate poverty guideline figures for Alaska and Hawaii (higher than the contiguous‑U.S. numbers) and notes territories may have different guidelines; the $31,200 figure applies specifically to the 48 contiguous states and D.C. ^{[1] [3]}.

5. Why the guideline changed for 2024

The 2024 guidelines reflect a 4.1% price increase between calendar years 2022 and 2023 as measured by CPI‑U; HHS increases the guidelines by the relevant CPI‑U percentage and then applies rounding/standardization across family sizes ^{[3] [1]}.

6. Caveats and limits of the guideline as a poverty measure

HHS explicitly notes the poverty guidelines are a simplified version of the Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds and are not the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM); different measures exist for statistical research versus program eligibility, so $31,200 is a policy tool rather than a full accounting of material hardship ^{[3] [4]}.

7. Where to find official tables and program‑specific applications

HHS/ASPE posts detailed 2024 guideline tables (including algorithm for additional persons and multiples) and the Federal Register notice contains the official update; program administrators (Medicaid, tax credit administrators, states) publish guidance on how they round and apply the guidelines for eligibility ^{[8] [3] [5]}.

8. Reporting discrepancies and why you might see different numbers

Some state or local documents show annual amounts converted to monthly figures or list different percentage cutoffs (50%, 120%, 200%, etc.) for program tiers — these aren’t contradictions but program‑specific presentations of the same base guideline; always check whether a chart shows 100% FPL, a percentage of FPL, monthly vs. annual amounts, or Alaska/Hawaii adjustments ^{[6] [9] [7]}.

Limitations: available sources used here are the HHS/ASPE and related agency/state summaries in your results; they provide the official 2024 guideline ($31,200 for four persons in the contiguous U.S.) and explain methodology and program use, but detailed program rules (exact income counting, family composition rules) vary by program and state and are not exhaustively described in these documents ^{[1] [5] [3]}.