What are the 2025 federal poverty guidelines for Alaska and Hawaii by household size?
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Executive summary
The HHS 2025 poverty guidelines set the contiguous U.S. (48 states + D.C.) baseline at $15,650 for one person and $32,150 for a family of four; Alaska and Hawaii have higher, separate figures that increase by fixed increments per additional household member (Alaska is roughly $19,550 for one person and Hawaii $17,990 for one person in 2025 as cited in reporting) [1] [2] [3]. The official Federal Register notice and HHS materials explain the 2025 update reflects a 2.9% CPI-U inflation adjustment and prescribes add‑ons for households larger than eight (add $6,330 per person for Alaska/Hawaii method noted) [4] [1].
1. What the 2025 guidelines are and why Alaska/Hawaii differ
HHS issues annual poverty guidelines used by federal programs; the 2025 update adjusts the Census Bureau’s thresholds by the 2.9% CPI-U change between 2023 and 2024 and then rounds to standard intervals [4]. Since the late 1960s the agency has provided separate higher poverty guideline figures for Alaska and Hawaii to reflect higher living costs in those states [5] [4].
2. Key numbers reporters and agencies cite for 2025
For the contiguous 48 states and D.C., public HHS materials and federal guidance list $15,650 for a single-person household and $32,150 for a household of four in 2025 [1] [2]. Secondary reporting and benefit‑guidance sites report the Alaska one‑person guideline as $19,550 and Hawaii’s as $17,990 for 2025, with corresponding scaled increases by household size [3].
3. How the increments work across household sizes
HHS presents the guidelines as a base amount for one person with fixed increments for each additional household member; multiple sources note roughly $5,500 added per additional person in the contiguous U.S. in 2025 (so 2‑person $21,150, 3‑person $26,650, etc.) and higher add‑ons apply for Alaska and Hawaii [6] [7]. For families over eight persons, the Federal Register instructs specific add‑ons — for certain tables Alaska/Hawaii use $6,330 per additional person as referenced in the 2025 notice [4].
4. Where these figures are used and why they matter
Federal poverty guidelines determine eligibility thresholds for many programs — Medicaid, CHIP, marketplace savings, certain immigration affidavit‑of‑support tests, and judicial fee waivers — with programs often using percentages (e.g., 100%, 125%, 150%) of the guideline for eligibility decisions [8] [9] [10]. For example, USCIS and affidavit‑of‑support rules reference 125% of the guidelines for most sponsors (reporting cites a household‑of‑four 125% target of roughly $50,237 for Alaska and $46,225 for Hawaii at the 125% level) [10].
5. Official sources vs. secondary summaries — what to trust
The primary, authoritative source is HHS/Federal Register’s 2025 notice and the detailed HHS tables [4] [1]. Secondary sites and benefit‑planning organizations reproduce those numbers and offer application examples; their summaries are useful but should be cross‑checked against the Federal Register/HHS tables for program‑specific rounding or effective‑date nuances [3] [10].
6. Limitations and what available sources do not say
Available sources show the 2025 base and Alaska/Hawaii differential and give sample household numbers, but they do not publish a single compact Alaska/Hawaii table in the snippets provided here; therefore exact Alaska/Hawaii figures by every household size beyond the one‑person examples and the cited add‑ons are not fully listed in the supplied excerpts — you should consult the HHS detailed 2025 PDF tables or the Federal Register notice for the full chart [1] [4]. Also, program rules often round or define “household” differently; those program‑specific definitions and rounding procedures are not exhaustively covered in the snippets and require checking the administering agency’s guidance [1].
7. Practical next steps for readers who need precise thresholds
If you need the exact Alaska and Hawaii guideline for a specific household size or a program‑specific percentage (e.g., 138% for Medicaid expansion, 125% for immigration affidavits), consult the HHS 2025 detailed guideline PDF or the Federal Register notice, then apply the program’s percentage and rounding rules; HHS’s online poverty GUIDELINES page links to the public‑display Federal Register notice and the detailed tables [5] [4] [1].
Sources: HHS/Federal Register 2025 notice and HHS guideline tables; federal guidance briefs and reputable program‑help sites summarized above [4] [1] [2] [3] [5].