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Home > Topics > Food & Nutrition Assistance > Food Security in the U.S. > Key Statistics & Graphics

Food Security in the

U.S.

Overview

Key Statistics & Graphics

Definitions of Food Security
This page provides the following information:
▸ Key Statistics &
Food Security Status of U.S. Households in 2021
Graphics
Food Security Status of U.S. Households with Children in 2021
Frequency of Food
How Many People Lived in Food-Insecure Households?
Insecurity
Food Insecurity by Household Characteristics
Measurement
Very Low Food Security by Household Characteristics

Interactive Charts and Trends in Prevalence Rates

Highlights
State-Level Prevalence of Food Insecurity (map)

History & Background

Food Security Status of U.S. Households in 2021
Survey Tools Food secure
secure—These households had access, at all times, to enough food for an active,
healthy life for all household members.
Media Resources
89.8 percent (118.5 million) of U.S. households were food secure throughout 2021.

Essentially unchanged, or not significantly different, from 89.5 percent in 2020.

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Food insecure
insecure—At times during the year, these households were uncertain of having or
unable to acquire enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had
insufficient money or other resources for food. Food-insecure households include those
with low food security and very low food security.

10.2 percent (13.5 million) of U.S. households were food insecure at some time
during 2021.

Essentially unchanged from 10.5 percent in 2020.

Low food security

security—These food-insecure households obtained enough food to avoid
substantially disrupting their eating patterns or reducing food intake by using a variety of
coping strategies, such as eating less varied diets, participating in Federal food assistance
programs, or getting food from community food pantries.

6.4 percent (8.4 million) of U.S. households had low food security in 2021.

Essentially unchanged from 6.6 percent in 2020.

Very low food security

security—In these food-insecure households, normal eating patterns of
one or more household members were disrupted and food intake was reduced at times
during the year because they had insufficient money or other resources for food.

3.8 percent (5.1 million) of U.S. households had very low food security at some time
during 2021.

This estimate is essentially unchanged from 3.9 percent in 2020.

Food Security Status of U.S. Households with Children in

2021
Among U.S. households with children under age 18:

87.5 percent of households with children were food secure in 2021.

Household food insecurity affected 12.5 percent of households with children in

2021. In some of these food-insecure households only adults were food insecure,
while in other households children also experienced food insecurity.

In 6.3 percent of households with children, only adults were food insecure.

Both children and adults were food insecure in 6.2 percent of households with
children (2.3 million households).

Children are usually protected from substantial reductions in food intake even in
households with very low food security. Nevertheless, in about 0.7 percent of
households with children (274,000 households), one or more child also
experienced reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns at some time
during the year.

U.S.householdswithchildrenbyfoodsecuritystatusofadultsand
children,2021

Food-insecurehouseholds:12.5%
Food-insecureadultsonlv:6.3%

Food-insecurechildrenandadults:6.2%
Lowfoodsecurityamongchildren:5.5%

Vervlowserwamonachildren

0.7%

Food-securehouseholds:87.5%
-Food-securehouseholds
-Foodinsecurityamongadultsonlyin
housenoldswithchildren

aLowfoodsecurityamongchildren
-Verylowfoodsecurityamongchildren

Note:Inmostinstances,whenchildrenarefoodinsecure,theadultsinthehousehold
arealsofondinsecure.

Source:USDA,EconomicResearchServiceusingdatafromU.S.Departmentof
Commerce,BureauoftheCensus,2021CurrentPopulationSurveyFoodSecunt
Supplement.

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For more information, see the ERS report:

Food Insecurity in Households With Children: Prevalence, Severity, and

Household Characteristics, 2010-11

How Many People Lived in Food-insecure Households?

In 2021:

33.8 million people lived in food-insecure households.

8.6 million adults lived in households with very low food security.

5.0 million children lived in food-insecure households in which children, along with
adults, were food insecure.

521,000 children (0.7 percent of the Nation's children) lived in households in which
one or more child experienced very low food security.

For more information, see Food Insecurity in the U.S.: Frequency of Food Insecurity
Insecurity.

Food Insecurity by Household Characteristics

The prevalence of food insecurity varied considerably among household types. Rates of
food insecurity were higher than the national average (10.2 percent) for the following
groups:

All households with children (12.5 percent).

Households with children under age 6 (12.9 percent).

Households with children headed by a single woman (24.3 percent) or a single man
(16.2 percent).

Women living alone (13.2 percent) and men living alone (12.3 percent).

Households with Black, non-Hispanic (19.8 percent) and Hispanic reference

persons (16.2 percent; a household reference person is an adult household member
in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented).

Households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty threshold (26.5
percent; the Federal poverty line was $27,479 for a family of four in 2021).

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Overall, households with children had a substantially higher rate of food insecurity
(12.5 percent) than those without children (9.4 percent). Among households with
children, married couple families had the lowest rate of food insecurity (7.4
percent).

The prevalence of food insecurity was highest for households located in principal
cities of metropolitan areas (12.2 percent), near the national average in
nonmetropolitan areas (10.8 percent), and lowest in suburban and other
metropolitan areas outside principal cities (8.8 percent).

Regionally, the prevalence of food insecurity in the Northeast (8.8 percent) was
significantly below the U.S. average, while the prevalence in the South (11.4
percent) was significantly above the U.S. average.

For interactive data visualizations, see Interactive Charts and Highlights

Highlights.

Very Low Food Security by Household Characteristics

The prevalence of very low food security in various types of households followed a pattern
similar to that observed for food insecurity overall. Very low food security was more
prevalent than the national average (3.8 percent) for the following groups:

Households with children headed by a single woman (8.0 percent).

Women living alone (6.0 percent) and men living alone (5.9 percent).

Households with reference persons who are Black, non-Hispanic (7.9 percent) and
Hispanic (5.5 percent).

Households with incomes below 185 percent of the poverty line (10.2 percent).

Households located in principal cities (4.6 percent).

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Trends in Prevalence Rates

The 2021 prevalence of food insecurity (10.2 percent) was not significantly different from
the 2020 and 2019 prevalence of 10.5 percent. Regarding earlier trends, a statistically-
significant decline in the prevalence of food insecurity from 11.1 percent in 2018 to 10.5
percent occurred in 2019. For the first time, in 2019, food insecurity was statistically
significantly—at the 90 percent confidence level—below the 11.1 percent pre-recession
level of 2007.

The prevalence of very low food security in 2021 (3.8 percent) was not significantly
different from the prevalence in 2020 (3.9 percent) or 2019 (4.1 percent). The prevalence
of very low food security in 2021 was significantly lower than the prevalence in 2018 (4.3
percent).

The year-to-year deviations from a consistent downward trend between 1995 and 2000
include a substantial 2-year cycle that is believed to result from seasonal effects on food
security prevalence rates. The Current Population Survey (CPS) food security surveys over
this period were conducted in April in odd-numbered years and August or September in
even-numbered years. Measured prevalence of food insecurity was higher in the
August/September collections, suggesting a seasonal-response effect. In 2001 and later
years, the surveys were conducted in early December, which avoided seasonal effects in
interpreting annual changes.

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State-level Prevalence of Food Insecurity

Prevalence rates of food insecurity varied considerably from State to State. Data for 3
years, 2019–2021, were combined to provide more reliable statistics at the State level.
Estimated prevalence rates of food insecurity during this 3-year period ranged from 5.4
percent in New Hampshire to 15.3 percent in Mississippi; estimated prevalence rates of
very low food security ranged from 1.8 percent in North Dakota to 6.3 percent in Arkansas.

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This section is based on the publication:

Household Food Security in the United States in 2021

Last updated: Wednesday, September 07, 2022

For more information, contact: Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Reem N. Hashad, Laura Hales, and Christian A.
Gregory

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