Poverty level · every state
Federal poverty level: the 2026 guidelines and how programs use them
One table decides who qualifies for Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, CHIP and Marketplace help. Here it is for every household size, with the percentages programs actually apply.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
The federal poverty level for 2026 is $15,960 a year for one person in the 48 contiguous states and DC, plus $5,680 for each extra person: $21,640 for two, $27,320 for three and $33,000 for a family of four. Alaska's figures are higher, $41,250 for four, and Hawaii's sit in between at $37,950. HHS published these poverty guidelines in the Federal Register on January 15, 2026. Programs rarely use 100% itself: SNAP tests gross income at 130%, adult Medicaid in expansion states stops at 138%, WIC at 185%, and the premium tax credit runs from 100% to 400%. The year matters as much as the percentage. Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP and WIC now use the 2026 table, but 2026 Marketplace coverage is still measured against the 2025 guidelines, $32,150 for four. A family of four earning $50,000 is at 151.5% of the 2026 guideline and 155.5% of the 2025 one.
Your income as a share of the 2026 poverty guideline
152%
Guideline for 4 people: $33,000 a year
| 100%: SNAP net income test, ACA credit floor | $33,000 a year · $2,750 a month |
| 130%: SNAP gross income test | $42,900 a year · $3,575 a month |
| 138%: Medicaid for adults (expansion states) | $45,540 a year · $3,795 a month |
| 185%: WIC and reduced-price school meals | $61,050 a year · $5,088 a month ✓ |
| 200%: Common state program and CHIP line | $66,000 a year · $5,500 a month ✓ |
| 250%: Cost-sharing reductions on silver plans | $82,500 a year · $6,875 a month ✓ |
| 400%: ACA premium tax credit ceiling in 2026 | $132,000 a year · $11,000 a month ✓ |
HHS 2026 poverty guidelines. Each program decides whose income counts and which year's guideline applies. How this is calculated.
The 2026 poverty guidelines for every household size
HHS issues three tables each January: one for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, one for Alaska and one for Hawaii. Each starts with a figure for one person and adds the same amount for each extra member, which is why a household of nine or ten is easy to work out. The monthly columns below are the yearly figure divided by 12; HHS publishes only yearly amounts, and agencies that run monthly tests do the division and rounding themselves. The 2026 guidelines on the ASPE site were printed in the Federal Register of January 15, 2026.
| Household size | 48 states and DC, per year | Per month | Alaska, per year | Per month | Hawaii, per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,960 | $1,330 | $19,950 | $1,663 | $18,360 | $1,530 |
| 2 | $21,640 | $1,803 | $27,050 | $2,254 | $24,890 | $2,074 |
| 3 | $27,320 | $2,277 | $34,150 | $2,846 | $31,420 | $2,618 |
| 4 | $33,000 | $2,750 | $41,250 | $3,438 | $37,950 | $3,163 |
| 5 | $38,680 | $3,223 | $48,350 | $4,029 | $44,480 | $3,707 |
| 6 | $44,360 | $3,697 | $55,450 | $4,621 | $51,010 | $4,251 |
| 7 | $50,040 | $4,170 | $62,550 | $5,213 | $57,540 | $4,795 |
| 8 | $55,720 | $4,643 | $69,650 | $5,804 | $64,070 | $5,339 |
| Each additional person | +$5,680 | +$473 | +$7,100 | +$592 | +$6,530 | +$544 |
The single-person guideline rose about 2% from 2025, from $15,650 to $15,960, and the amount per additional person went from $5,500 to $5,680. Those increments are rounded and standardized on purpose: the statistical poverty measure behind them does not move in even steps, and program offices asked for a table that does.
2025 or 2026: which table each program applies
The table you need depends on the program and on the date, and mixing them up is an easy way to get a wrong answer. HealthCare.gov states the rule for health coverage plainly: the current year's guidelines decide Medicaid and CHIP, while the previous year's guidelines measure Marketplace savings for the next year. Food programs follow their own calendars.
| Program | Period | Guidelines used | Percentage that matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicaid | 2026 | 2026 | 138% for expansion adults, other lines for children and pregnancy |
| CHIP | 2026 | 2026 | set by each state |
| SNAP | October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 | 2026 | 130% gross test, up to 200% in 28 states |
| WIC | July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 | 2026 | 185% |
| Premium tax credit | 2026 coverage | 2025 | 100% to 400% |
For SNAP, USDA turns the guidelines into monthly limits once a year: the gross limit for one person in fiscal year 2027 is $1,729, which is 130% of $15,960 divided by 12 and rounded up. WIC does the same at 185%, giving $29,526 a year for one person from July 1, 2026. The Marketplace is the outlier, because open enrollment for a year starts in November, before HHS has the new figures. Here is the 2025 table, still in force for every 2026 premium tax credit and for the cost-sharing reductions on silver plans.
| Household size | 48 states and DC | Alaska | Hawaii | Change in 2026 (48 states) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,650 | $19,550 | $17,990 | +$310 |
| 2 | $21,150 | $26,430 | $24,320 | +$490 |
| 3 | $26,650 | $33,310 | $30,650 | +$670 |
| 4 | $32,150 | $40,190 | $36,980 | +$850 |
| 5 | $37,650 | $47,070 | $43,310 | +$1,030 |
| 6 | $43,150 | $53,950 | $49,640 | +$1,210 |
| 7 | $48,650 | $60,830 | $55,970 | +$1,390 |
| 8 | $54,150 | $67,710 | $62,300 | +$1,570 |
| Each additional person | +$5,500 | +$6,880 | +$6,330 | +$180 |
The gap creates odd results. The family of four in the calculator above, with $50,000 a year, is at 151.5% of poverty for its Medicaid or CHIP application and at 155.5% on its Marketplace application, both in the same year and both correct.
Percentages of the poverty level from 100% to 400%
Almost no program stops at 100%. Laws and regulations write a multiple of the guideline instead, so a household needs the dollar value of that multiple. The table gives the 2026 yearly amounts for one to four people in the 48 states and DC; the calculator above does any size, Alaska and Hawaii included.
| Percentage | 1 person | 2 people | 3 people | 4 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | $15,960 | $21,640 | $27,320 | $33,000 |
| 130% | $20,748 | $28,132 | $35,516 | $42,900 |
| 138% | $22,025 | $29,863 | $37,702 | $45,540 |
| 150% | $23,940 | $32,460 | $40,980 | $49,500 |
| 185% | $29,526 | $40,034 | $50,542 | $61,050 |
| 200% | $31,920 | $43,280 | $54,640 | $66,000 |
| 250% | $39,900 | $54,100 | $68,300 | $82,500 |
| 300% | $47,880 | $64,920 | $81,960 | $99,000 |
| 400% | $63,840 | $86,560 | $109,280 | $132,000 |
Each line has its own page that explains who uses it and what happens just above it:
- 130% of the poverty level: the federal SNAP gross income test, and the real ceiling in states without a higher option.
- 138% of the poverty level: Medicaid for adults in the 41 expansion jurisdictions.
- 185% of the poverty level: WIC and reduced-price school meals.
- 200% of the poverty level: the broad SNAP limit of 28 states and the CHIP line in many others.
- 250% of the poverty level: the end of cost-sharing reductions on Marketplace silver plans.
- 400% of the poverty level: the 2026 ceiling of the premium tax credit, $128,600 for four.
Guidelines, thresholds and the October 2025 gap
"Federal poverty level" is the everyday name for two different measures. The Census Bureau's poverty thresholds are the original version: they are used for statistics, such as the official count of people in poverty, and they vary by family composition and by the age of the householder. The HHS poverty guidelines are a simplified version built for administration, with one figure per household size and no age distinction. HHS itself calls the phrase "federal poverty level" ambiguous and prefers "poverty guidelines" where precision matters, but agencies and HealthCare.gov use FPL for the guidelines, as this site does.
The guidelines carry a year lag in their substance. Those issued in January 2026 take the Census thresholds for 2024 and adjust them for price changes between 2024 and 2025 using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The 2026 edition has a quirk HHS flags in a note: because of the federal government shutdown in October 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish the CPI-U for that month. HHS therefore compared the average of the 11 available months of 2025 with the average of all 12 months of 2024. The guidelines published on January 15 are the ones programs apply, whatever the method behind them.
Programs that do not use the guidelines
HHS lists Head Start, SNAP, the National School Lunch Program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and CHIP among the users of the guidelines or their multiples. It also names the exceptions. Cash assistance through TANF and Supplemental Security Income does not use them; SSI works from a federal benefit rate of $994 a month in 2026. The Earned Income Tax Credit does not use them either: the IRS sets its own brackets by number of children. Housing assistance follows a third logic, local income limits that HUD derives from each area's median income, explained in Section 8 income limits.
When you compare your income with any of these figures, count it the way the program does. SNAP looks at gross monthly income of everyone who buys and prepares food together. Medicaid and the Marketplace use MAGI for the tax household, which leaves out SSI. A household of four in one program can be a household of three in another, so the percentage can differ even with the same paycheck. The benefits screener applies each rule side by side, and your state page shows the limits that apply where you live.