Contents
- Household food insecurity statistics: national prevalence and trends
- Household food insecurity statistics: children and families
- Household food insecurity statistics: income and poverty
- Household food insecurity statistics: household type and race
- Household food insecurity statistics by state
- Household food insecurity statistics: severity, food spending, and assistance
- Sources
Household food insecurity statistics: national prevalence and trends
In 2024, 13.7% of U.S. households—18.340 million households—experienced food insecurity at some point during the calendar year. A further severity measure, very low food security, applied to 5.4% of households, or 7.202 million. These figures describe household status: they do not mean every person in a household classified as food insecure experienced the same conditions. Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 1A
The annual estimate changed little from 2023: food insecurity was 13.5% that year and 13.7% in 2024. ERS reports that this difference was not statistically significant. In the longer annual series from 2001 through 2024, the 2021 estimate was 10.2%, the lowest in the series; the 2011 estimate was 14.9%. The figures give historical context, but they do not by themselves explain why the rate differed across years. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 1A and summary
| Annual measure | Result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Food insecure, 2024 | 13.7%; 18.340 million households | U.S. households |
| Very low food security, 2024 | 5.4%; 7.202 million households | U.S. households |
| Food insecure, 2023 | 13.5% | U.S. households |
| Food insecure, 2021 | 10.2% | Lowest annual estimate in the 2001–2024 series |
| Food insecure, 2011 | 14.9% | U.S. households |
Source for all rows: USDA ERS, Table 1A.
The report is based on the December 2024 Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement and measures household experiences during calendar year 2024. Its estimates represent the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population; ERS applied food-security supplement sample weights. Survey-instrument updates began in 2022, while the underlying food-security measurement methodology was unchanged. The annual figures and state averages below cover different periods and should be read separately. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024
Household food insecurity statistics: children and families
Households with children had a higher food-insecurity prevalence than the national household estimate in 2024: 18.4%, representing 6.739 million households with children ages 0–17. Within that group, 9.1%, or 3.313 million households, had food-insecure children. Another 9.3% of households with children experienced food insecurity among adults only. These are distinct household classifications: food insecurity in a household does not automatically mean its children were directly affected. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 1B and page 15
The report also counts people living in households with these conditions. In 2024, 14.1 million children lived in food-insecure households. About 7.3 million children, or 10.1% of children, lived in households where at least 1 child was food insecure. A narrower severity measure found that 751,000 children, or 1.0% of children, lived in households with very low food security among children. The people counts refer to children’s household circumstances, while the household rates above use households with children as their denominator. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, page 16 and Table 1B
| 2024 measure | Result | Denominator or population |
|---|---|---|
| Food-insecure households with children | 18.4%; 6.739 million | U.S. households with children ages 0–17 |
| Households with food-insecure children | 9.1%; 3.313 million | U.S. households with children |
| Adult-only food insecurity | 9.3% | U.S. households with children |
| Children living in food-insecure households | 14.1 million | Children in the United States |
| Children in households with at least 1 food-insecure child | About 7.3 million; 10.1% | U.S. children |
| Children in households with very low food security among children | 751,000; 1.0% | U.S. children |
Source for all rows: USDA ERS, Tables 1B and report narrative.
In 2024, 0.9% of households with children, or 318,000 households, had very low food security among children. Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, ERR-358
Household food insecurity statistics: income and poverty
Food-insecurity prevalence differed across income-to-poverty groups in 2024. It was 39.4% among households below the official poverty line, 38.3% among households below 130% of the poverty threshold, and 32.8% among those below 185%. Among households at or above 185% of the threshold, it was 7.9%. Each percentage describes the share of households in that income group that experienced food insecurity; these figures are not shares of all food-insecure households. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 2
A separate distribution measure shows that households with reported income below 185% of the poverty threshold made up 50.3% of all food-insecure households in 2024. This describes the composition of the food-insecure group, rather than the risk within an income group. The distinction matters: a prevalence rate answers how common food insecurity was among households in a category, while a group’s share of all food-insecure households answers how much that category contributed to the total. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, page 27 and Table 2
| Household income relative to poverty threshold, 2024 | Food-insecurity prevalence |
|---|---|
| Under 1.00 | 39.4% |
| Under 1.30 | 38.3% |
| Under 1.85 | 32.8% |
| 1.85 and over | 7.9% |
These are prevalence rates within each income group. Source: USDA ERS, Table 2. Households below 185% of the threshold comprised 50.3% of all food-insecure households, as reported in the report narrative.
Household food insecurity statistics: household type and race
Household composition was associated with differing observed prevalence in 2024. Food insecurity affected 10.9% of married-couple households with children. Among households with children classified as having a female head with no spouse, the rate was 36.8%; for those with a male head with no spouse, it was 23.8%. Some households in both no-spouse categories included other adults, according to the report’s table note. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 2 and footnote 24
For households consisting of 1 person, prevalence was 16.2% among women living alone and 14.7% among men living alone. The rate was 9.9% for households with an adult aged 65 or older, and 11.3% for households consisting of an adult aged 65 or older living alone. These categories use the household as the unit of measurement, including where the category is defined by a resident’s age or living arrangement. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 2
The table classifies households by the race and ethnicity of the household reference person. Food insecurity affected 10.1% of households with a White, non-Hispanic reference person, 24.4% with a Black, non-Hispanic reference person, 20.2% with a Hispanic reference person, and 11.9% with an Other, non-Hispanic reference person. Hispanic respondents may be of any race. These are descriptive category estimates, not explanations of the differences. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 2 and footnote 3
| Household category | Food-insecurity prevalence, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Married-couple families with children | 10.9% |
| Female head, no spouse, with children | 36.8% |
| Male head, no spouse, with children | 23.8% |
| Women living alone | 16.2% |
| Men living alone | 14.7% |
| With an adult aged 65 or older | 9.9% |
| Adult aged 65 or older living alone | 11.3% |
| White, non-Hispanic household reference person | 10.1% |
| Black, non-Hispanic household reference person | 24.4% |
| Hispanic household reference person | 20.2% |
| Other, non-Hispanic household reference person | 11.9% |
Source for all rows: USDA ERS, Table 2.
Household food insecurity statistics by state
State figures here are 3-year averages for 2022–2024, not estimates for 2024 alone. The reported household food-insecurity rate was 19.4% in Arkansas, 9.0% in North Dakota, 17.6% in Texas, 17.7% in Louisiana, and 18.8% in Kentucky. For Kentucky, the average rate of very low food security was also reported: 9.0%. South Dakota’s average very low food-security rate was 3.4%. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 4
The national 3-year average food-insecurity rate for 2022–2024 was 13.3%. In the state-comparison series, the U.S. average food-insecurity rate increased by 2.9 percentage points between 2019–2021 and 2022–2024; the average very low food-security rate increased by 1.2 percentage points over those same periods. ERS marks both changes as statistically significant. The comparison is between 3-year averages, so it should not be read as a single-year change. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Tables 4 and 5
For Massachusetts, the household food-insecurity rate increased by 2.1 percentage points between the 2012–2014 and 2022–2024 averages; that change is also marked statistically significant. The period differs from the national comparison above. ERS’s state estimates represent the civilian, noninstitutionalized population, and the table’s asterisks identify statistically significant changes. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 5 and report notes
| Geography and period | Measure | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas, 2022–2024 average | Food insecurity | 19.4% |
| North Dakota, 2022–2024 average | Food insecurity | 9.0% |
| Texas, 2022–2024 average | Food insecurity | 17.6% |
| Louisiana, 2022–2024 average | Food insecurity | 17.7% |
| Kentucky, 2022–2024 average | Food insecurity | 18.8% |
| Kentucky, 2022–2024 average | Very low food security | 9.0% |
| South Dakota, 2022–2024 average | Very low food security | 3.4% |
| United States, 2022–2024 average | Food insecurity | 13.3% |
Source for all rows: USDA ERS, Table 4. Changes between periods are reported in Table 5.
Household food insecurity statistics: severity, food spending, and assistance
Very low food security captures more severe reported constraints on food access. Among U.S. households classified in this group in 2024, 98% worried food would run out before they had money to buy more; 97% said food bought did not last and they lacked money to get more; and 95% said they could not afford balanced meals. These are reported conditions used to characterize the group, not separate estimates for all food-insecure households. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, page 8, “What Is Very Low Food Security?”
Meal changes were also common in this group. In 97% of households with very low food security, an adult cut meal size or skipped meals because there was not enough money for food; 87% said this occurred in 3 or more months. Separately, 94% reported eating less than they felt they should because there was not enough money for food, and 69% reported being hungry but not eating because they could not afford enough food. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, page 8
Other reported experiences included losing weight because there was not enough money for food, reported by 49% of households with very low food security. An adult did not eat for a whole day for this reason in 32% of these households; 25% said this happened in 3 or more months. Among households without children and classified with very low food security, 68% reported 7 or more food-insecure conditions. The latter statistic applies specifically to households without children. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, page 8
Weekly food spending provides a separate comparison. In 2024, median weekly food spending per person was $75.00 among food-secure households and $66.67 among food-insecure households. The spending table excludes households missing spending responses or reporting zero usual spending, so its medians describe the included households. The values are per person, per week, and in dollars. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 7
| Household food-security status, 2024 | Median weekly food spending per person |
|---|---|
| Food secure | $75.00 |
| Food insecure | $66.67 |
Source: USDA ERS, Table 7. The table excludes households with missing spending responses or zero usual spending.
Program-participation estimates refer to the 30 days before the December 2024 survey. SNAP participation was reported by 43.4% of food-insecure households and 47.3% of households with very low food security. Free or reduced-price National School Lunch Program meals were reported by 29.2% of food-insecure households and 26.6% of households with very low food security. WIC participation was reported by 7.9% of food-insecure households. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 9
ERS restricts these participation estimates to households with annual income below 185% of poverty and notes that they may understate participation. They describe reported recent participation among the specified household groups; they do not measure all program use during the year. Source: USDA ERS, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024, Table 9 notes