Data highlight
Oklahoma ranks 7 (of 51), with 17.5% of its women scraping by below the poverty line. The best-performing state is New Hampshire, with only 7.1% of its women living in poverty, and the worst performing-state is Louisiana at 20.6%
Oklahoma ranks 7 (of 51), with 17.5% of its women scraping by below the poverty line. The best-performing state is New Hampshire, with only 7.1% of its women living in poverty, and the worst performing-state is Louisiana at 20.6%
Percentage of women ages 19-64 who lived below the poverty level in 2023.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
Women living in poverty generally don’t have enough money to meet basic needs like food, housing, healthcare, childcare, and transportation. This often means they have very low or no income, unstable jobs, or face barriers like discrimination, caregiving responsibilities, or lack of education or support.
Poverty in the U.S. is measured two ways: poverty guidelines and poverty thresholds (see considerations). To reflect the research standard and most accurate data, we use the poverty threshold as the measure for this indicator.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty threshold for a family with two adults and one child was $25,249 in 2024. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issues poverty guidelines in late January of each year.
According to the CDC, as a social determinant of health (SoDH) poverty has the potential to influence health outcomes to a higher degree than genetic factors or access to healthcare. It is linked to both exposure to unhealthy environments and behaviors. As a result, impoverished individuals are significantly more likely to develop a myriad of health problems, including chronic disease, obesity, mental illness, substance abuse, and lower life expectancy.
Women living below the federal poverty level often struggle to meet basic needs such as adequate food, healthcare, and stable housing. They have higher rates of chronic illness, decreased access to healthy food, and an increased risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Women are more likely to live in poverty than men – to the tune of 11% to 8.8% respectively, according to the Census Bureau’s official poverty measure (OPM). This disparity is linked to various factors, including wage gaps, less access to economic opportunities, lack of caregiving/childcare support, and other systemic challenges that disproportionately affect women.
These trends hold true in Oklahoma. 17.5% of women live below the poverty level compared to just 12.7% of men. Further, 37.3% of female-headed households (single mothers with children under 18) in Oklahoma have lived in poverty.
Poverty commonly occurs in concentrated areas for prolonged periods of time. Factors often beyond one’s individual control – such as living in an underserved area, being a victim of abuse, and/or institutionalized racism – leave some populations more at risk than others. Certain racial or ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and those living in rural areas face a higher risk of being impoverished.
For the past decade, poverty rates in Oklahoma have been twice as high for Black individuals than white folks. Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native communities also face higher rates, at 21.9% and 18.4% respectively, in 2023.
Poverty in the United States is measured one of two ways: poverty thresholds, or poverty guidelines. They are both dollar amounts set by the U.S. government to indicate the least amount of income a person or family needs to meet their basic needs. People whose income falls below the specified amount are considered low income. However, the purpose and specific formulas for each measure are different.
Poverty thresholds, updated annually by the U.S. Census Bureau, are used to define and quantify poverty in the United States. This measure is primarily used to gauge the rise or fall in poverty over time and to compare poverty statistics across geographic areas and demographic groups. Thresholds vary by the age/number of people in a family unit, but don’t vary by state.
Poverty guidelines, on the other hand, are used to determine financial eligibility for many public assistance programs or benefits. Typically, a percentage multiple of the guideline is used as the basis to determine program eligibility. Like poverty thresholds, guidelines vary by the age or number of people in a household. However, poverty guidelines take geography into account, varying by state.
In research, poverty threshold data can be used to determine how many people (number or percent) are in poverty, or identify how many families (number or percent) have income below 200 percent of poverty. Contrastingly, poverty guideline data can be used to find an estimate of the number of families/households in a community eligible to participate in a particular public assistance program. For the purpose of this indicator, we use poverty thresholds.
This issue brief was written by Metriarch staff as part of our Data Lookbook. Contributions and peer review were provided by Emma Morris with Oklahoma Policy Institute.
Suggested citation
Metriarch. “Economic Factors,” Data Lookbook (2025). URL: metriarchok.org/women-experiencing-poverty.
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