Poverty and Income Security

Numerous federal programs and policies aim to reduce poverty, alleviate some of poverty's adverse consequences, enhance the security of people’s incomes, and affect the distribution of income and economic well-being. CBO provides cost estimates for legislative proposals related to those programs and policies. The agency also conducts in-depth analyses of the budgetary and other effects of those programs and policies and of options for changing them. (A separate page on Social Security provides additional information on CBO’s work in that area.)

Report
Work Requirements and Work Supports for Recipients of Means-Tested Benefits
June 9, 2022
CBO analyzes the effects of work requirements and work supports on employment and income of participants in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Medicaid.
Report
The Distribution of Household Income, 2018
August 4, 2021
In 2018, average household income after accounting for means-tested transfers and federal taxes was $37,700 among households in the lowest quintile and $243,900 among households in the highest quintile.
Interactive
How Increasing the Federal Minimum Wage Could Affect Employment and Family Income
April 5, 2021
This interactive tool allows users to explore how various policies to increase the federal minimum wage would affect earnings, employment, family income, and poverty.
Report
The Effects on Employment and Family Income of Increasing the Federal Minimum Wage
July 8, 2019
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for most workers. In this report, CBO examines how increasing the federal minimum wage to $10, $12, or $15 per hour by 2025 would affect employment and family income.