In 2022, 17.9% of West Virginia's population lived below the poverty line, which was the third highest rate in the country. This was an increase from 2021, when 16.8% of the state's population lived below the poverty line. However, the poverty rate has decreased from 22.2% in 1970.

The official poverty measure only considers household income and doesn't account for social safety net programs like food assistance and tax credits. Black and Latino West Virginians are more likely to experience poverty, with 30.7% and 22.4% of those populations living in poverty in 2022, respectively

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