Texas’ statewide poverty rate declines, but several rural counties see increase in poor residents

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The number of Texans living in poverty slightly declined during the five-year period ending in 2022, though several rural counties saw their share of poor residents increase, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates. An average of 13.9% of Texans lived below the poverty line from 2018 to 2022, down from 16% of Texans in poverty from 2013 to 2017.