To classify people as poor, the Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition. If a family's total income is below the poverty threshold relevant to that family, then every individual in the family is classified as poor. The official poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes as its measure of income, and it does not include capital gains or noncash benefits such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps. For more information, see the Census Bureau’s poverty definitions.

In 2002, there were substantial changes in the racial categories used by the Census Bureau. Time series by race that include data from both racial classifications should be interpreted with care. More details on the changes in racial categories.