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What is the 2025 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) amount for a single-person and family of four, and how is it calculated?
Executive summary
The 2025 Federal Poverty Guidelines (often called the Federal Poverty Level, FPL) set the 100% FPL for a single person in the 48 contiguous states and DC at $15,650 and for a family of four at $32,150 (Alaska and Hawaii have higher amounts) [1] [2]. HHS builds these annual guidelines by updating Census poverty thresholds for price changes (CPI-U) and publishing the resulting guidelines for program use beginning Jan. 15, 2025 [3] [4].
1. What the 2025 numbers are — single person and family of four
The HHS 2025 poverty guideline for a one-person household in the contiguous U.S. and DC is $15,650; for a household of four it is $32,150 [1] [2]. HHS issues separate, larger amounts for Alaska ($19,550 for one person) and Hawaii ($17,990 for one person) to reflect higher local costs of living [1] [5].
2. How HHS calculates the guidelines — Census thresholds adjusted for inflation
HHS derives the poverty guidelines from the Census Bureau’s official poverty thresholds and updates them annually for price changes using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI‑U). The 2025 guidelines were calculated by taking the 2023 Census thresholds and adjusting them for price changes between 2023 and 2024, then published as the 2025 guidelines [3]. HHS then posts the guidelines (and an API) and the guidelines become effective in mid‑January [3] [4].
3. Why guidelines differ from “poverty thresholds” and why states matter
HHS notes the “poverty guidelines” (what most programs call the FPL) are distinct from the Census Bureau’s more detailed “poverty thresholds,” which vary by family composition and age of members; the simplified HHS guidelines are for administrative use across programs [3]. Programs also apply geographic adjustments — Alaska and Hawaii have higher FPL figures — and many state programs then use percentages of these guidelines (for example, 138% for Medicaid expansion eligibility in many states) [1] [5] [6].
4. How program rules use the FPL — percentages, eligibility, and timing
Federal and state programs usually assess eligibility by comparing household income to percentages of the FPL (e.g., 100%, 138%, 150%, 200%, etc.). For example, the courts and social service programs routinely publish tables of 150% or 125% of the 2025 guidelines for eligibility calculations [7] [8]. Note: health insurance Marketplace subsidy calculations often use the prior year’s guidelines for a given coverage year (eligibility for plan-year 2025 premiums was tied to 2024 guidelines), and agencies publish guidance on which year’s FPL to apply [9].
5. Practical math — how to get from the single-person base to larger households
The guideline increases by a set increment for each additional household member. For 2025, the contiguous U.S. FPL increases roughly $5,500 per additional person, producing $15,650 (1 person), $21,150 (2 people), $26,650 (3 people) and $32,150 (4 people) as the standard annual figures used by many programs [1] [5] [2].
6. Points of disagreement, limits of the published guidance
Reporting and third‑party calculators sometimes show slightly different per‑person add‑ons for very large households or list rounded Alaska/Hawaii numbers that vary by source; HHS’s published table is authoritative for program use [3] [10]. Some private sites report different minute figures or inconsistent Alaska/Hawaii numbers — always cross‑check those against HHS/ASPE publications or the Federal Register notice [10] [3]. Available sources do not mention any alternative federal methodology beyond the CPI‑U update of Census thresholds for 2025 (not found in current reporting).
7. What readers should do next — verify for your program and state
Because programs differ (Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, legal aid, benefits offices) and sometimes use different year guidelines or percentages, check the specific program guidance in your state and the official HHS/ASPE table published for 2025 before applying [3] [4]. If you need a quick check, state agencies and many legal‑aid groups publish 2025 FPL charts and program‑specific percentage tables based on the HHS announcement [11] [12].
Sources cited: HHS/ASPE poverty guidelines and explanatory pages [3] [10] [4]; healthinsurance.org summary of 2025 FPL [1]; USAFacts explanation chart [2]; program charts and third‑party summaries that apply the HHS numbers [7] [5] [11].