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What are the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines for a household of 1?
Executive Summary
The 2025 HHS poverty guideline for a household of one is $15,650 annually ($1,304.17 monthly) for the 48 contiguous states and D.C., $19,550 annually ($1,629.17 monthly) for Alaska, and $17,990 annually ($1,499.17 monthly) for Hawaii, based on the Department of Health and Human Services release and complementary materials that present either the guidelines themselves or 150% multiples used by programs [1] [2]. These figures are the baseline used in 2025 for determining eligibility and affordability safe harbors across federal programs, though individual programs may apply rounding rules or alternative calculations when they reference the poverty guidelines [3] [4].
1. What people claimed and the single clear takeaway that matters
Multiple source excerpts assert the same central claim: the 2025 HHS Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for a one-person household is $15,650 in the contiguous U.S., $19,550 in Alaska, and $17,990 in Hawaii, and they present monthly conversions alongside program-specific percentages and safe-harbor computations [1]. Some provided materials originally displayed 150% of the guidelines — commonly used by programs to set eligibility cutoffs — which required dividing those figures by 1.5 to derive the actual FPL values; that arithmetic is consistent across the documents and yields the numbers above [4]. The clear takeaway: different documents may present either the FPL or program multiples; verify which number a program cites before applying it.
2. The official numbers, how they were derived, and where to verify them quickly
The $15,650 figure follows directly from the HHS publication of 2025 poverty guidelines for the lower 48 states and D.C.; monthly figures are the annual amounts divided by 12 to produce $1,304.17 [1] [2]. Alaska and Hawaii’s higher amounts reflect HHS adjustments for higher living costs in those states and are standard in annual HHS releases; Alaska is $19,550 and Hawaii $17,990, with corresponding monthly figures of $1,629.17 and $1,499.17 [1] [2]. Where some documents show 150% values (e.g., $23,475 for the contiguous U.S.), dividing by 1.5 gives the official guideline; that conversion is routine and documented in guidance materials, so the arithmetic and resulting figures are verifiable from the HHS/ASPE and CMS notices [4] [3].
3. How programs use the guidelines and common implementation differences to watch for
Federal programs use the HHS poverty guidelines differently: some apply the FPL directly to set eligibility, others use percentages like 100%, 138%, or 150% as program cutoffs, and some specify rounding or monthly-vs-annual conventions that change the operational number for applicants [3] [2]. Employer ACA affordability safe-harbor calculations reference the FPL but often compute a monthly affordability threshold based on a fixed percentage of the annual guideline divided by 12; CMS guidance published in January 2025 cites the safe-harbor monthly rates derived from these 2025 FPL figures [5]. That means an FPL number alone does not guarantee a particular eligibility outcome; check the program’s regulatory text or its issuing agency’s guidance to see whether it uses annual, monthly, rounded, or percentage-based thresholds.
4. Where confusion or misreporting tends to occur and what to flag
Confusion arises when documents publish 150% of FPL (used by many programs) without clearly labeling that as a multiple; readers who miss that label can misstate the FPL itself. Several provided extracts showed 150% values alongside guidance language, requiring users to divide by 1.5 to obtain the base FPL, which some summaries omitted explicitly but others documented clearly [4]. Another area to flag is occasional mixing of terms: “poverty guidelines” (HHS) versus “poverty thresholds” (Census Bureau); the guidelines are the operative administrative figures for 2025 programs, while thresholds are statistical measures — they are not interchangeable [2]. Finally, rounding rules and monthly vs. annual application can produce small numeric differences that matter for eligibility near cutoffs [3] [4].
5. Bottom line, recommended checks, and immediate next steps for users
Bottom line: use $15,650 (contiguous U.S.), $19,550 (Alaska), $17,990 (Hawaii) as the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines for one-person households, but always confirm whether your specific program references 100% FPL, a percentage multiple, or a monthly rounded rate before applying them [1]. For immediate verification consult the HHS/ASPE or CMS 2025 notices and program-specific guidance published in January 2025, which provide both the base figures and the commonly used multiples and safe-harbor monthly rates [3] [5]. If you need, I can fetch the direct HHS/ASPE or CMS PDF links and show the exact lines where the one-person figures and any program-specific monthly safe-harbor amounts are stated.