For Immediate Release
September 17, 2026
Contact:
Rachel Noerdlinger rnoerdlinger@ActumLLC.com
Andrew Taranto ataranto@KSXcomms.com
Statement on U.S. Census Bureau’s Latest National Poverty Statistics; Findings Fail to Show that Millions of Americans are Economically Insecure
Response from Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO of FPWA and Co-Chair of the National True Cost of Living Coalition
New York, NY (September 17, 2026) – Jennifer Jones Austin, co-chair of the National True Cost of Living Coalition and CEO of FPWA, one of the nation’s leading social services organizations, issued the following statement:
“The poverty statistics released by the Census Bureau yesterday underscore the ongoing failure in how the government measures and addresses economic hardship in America. In 2025, a family of two adults and two children was considered above the federal poverty line once its annual income reached just $32,649. Any working family trying to pay for housing, food, health care, transportation and childcare knows that income does not come even remotely close to providing a comfortable or secure life. The True Cost of Economic Security measure, commissioned by FPWA and developed by the Urban Institute, puts numbers behind that reality: a family of four needs at least $149,600 a year to thrive.
“That immense gap shows that our current approach to poverty only reveals how many people have escaped the most severe deprivation, while overlooking millions of families who remain unable to afford basic needs, build savings, manage debt or withstand an emergency. A falling poverty rate cannot be treated as evidence of broad economic security when the threshold itself bears so little relationship to what it actually costs families to live.
“The Census data makes that disconnect especially clear. Median household income reached a record high in 2025, while income at the bottom of the distribution remained essentially stagnant. And although child poverty and the overall official poverty rate declined, millions of Americans remain economically insecure well above the poverty line.
“The picture the data provide is also likely already outdated. The 2025 figures largely predate the full impact of recent federal draconian slashes to food assistance, health coverage and other core safety-net programs, and we have yet to see the full effect those changes will have on families’ economic security. What we do know is that these programs help millions of Americans afford basic needs, and their retrenchment risks pushing families who are already struggling even further from economic security.
“For too long, public policy has focused on managing poverty rather than creating the conditions for people to thrive. Policymakers need a standard that reflects what families actually need to live with stability, dignity and the ability to plan for the future. The True Cost of Economic Security measure offers that clearer picture and should help guide how we measure progress and shape policy.”
About FPWA
The Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) is a leading anti-poverty, social policy and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening human services organizations and faith institutions, and advancing economic opportunity and justice for New Yorkers with low incomes. Since 1922, FPWA has driven groundbreaking policy reforms to better serve those in need and dismantle barriers to economic security and well-being.
About the National True Cost of Living Coalition
The National True Cost of Living Coalition was founded in 2024 by two leading anti-poverty and advocacy organizations: the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) and the Community Service Society of New York (CSS). The Coalition commissioned the Urban Institute to develop a national true cost of living measure using its best-in-class research and methodological analysis.
Concerned about the nation’s inability to both accurately measure what it costs individuals and families to live in America in the 21st century and govern accordingly because existing measures center on acute basic needs and not economic security, they brought together a broad-based group of policy experts and labor, business, philanthropic and community leaders to advocate for the adoption of a national true cost of living measure that would inform policy and programming at all levels of government, and help ensure that economic security is an attainable goal for all Americans.
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