New data show poverty is up in North Dakota, but falling in most states
After falling to a record low of 9.8 percent in 2023, North Dakota’s poverty rate rose to 11.1 percent in 2024, per new US Census Bureau data. Among the 50 states, North Dakota ranked middle of the pack, performing better than just 23 other states.
Except for 2023, progress has been slow, particularly in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. While over half of all states have returned to (and surpassed) low pre-pandemic poverty levels, the opposite is true for North Dakota.
Figure 1: Poverty rate by state, 2024
Post-pandemic progress
Nationally, poverty reached a historic low in 2019. For North Dakota, that happened in 2023 when the state’s poverty rate dropped below 10 percent for the first time since the adoption of the American Community Survey in 2005.
However, as new data shows, 2023 was likely an anomaly. In more than half of all states, poverty is lower in 2024 compared to 2019, the last normal year before the pandemic. But for North Dakota, the poverty rate in 2024 is higher than it was in the entire period between 2015 and 2019, and 13 percent higher than in 2023.
Figure 2: Is poverty higher in 2024 than it was in 2019?
North Dakota’s post-COVID performance is particularly concerning when considering the state’s impressive history.
Each year between 2012 and 2017, North Dakota consistently ranked among the ten states with the lowest poverty rates. But beginning in 2018, its position slipped to 12th and has continued to decline since. In 2024, the state was outperformed by 22 other states, matching its 2010 performance.
North Dakota’s 2024 poverty rate is the same as it was in 2021 — the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the rate fell 3.5 percent between 2022 and 2024, North Dakota ranked 26th among the 50 states in reducing poverty during that period.
Lawmakers, beware
As American Experiment has documented, North Dakota’s economic growth has lagged the nation beginning in 2014. This likely explains the state’s relatively worsening performance in poverty statistics, beginning in the late 2010s.
Lawmakers should beware; without pro-growth policies, North Dakota’s economy will likely continue to slow. This will mean fewer opportunities for upward mobility, making it even harder for families to escape poverty.