Table 2.

Indicators used to measure multidimensional poverty in the United States

Dimensions Stiglitz et al. (2009)	Indicators	Thresholds	Previous Studies using the indicator	% below threshold
Health	Disabilities	Two or more out of six disabilities: hearing, vision, cognition, ambulation, serious difficulty with self-care (e.g., bathing and dressing), or performing independent tasks (e.g., shopping)	Dhongde and Haveman (2017) Glassman (2019); Dhongde et. al. (2019)	4.6%
Education	High school education	Not having received at least a high school diploma	Dhongde and Haveman (2017) Glassman (2019, 2021) Mitra and Brucker (2016, 2019) Dhongde et. al. (2019) Dhongde and Dong (2022)	10.2%
Economic Security	Health insurance	Lack of any type of health insurance; public or private	Dhongde and Haveman (2017) Glassman (2019, 2021) Mitra and Brucker (2016, 2019) Dhongde et. al. (2019) Dhongde and Dong (2022)	16.9%
Std. of Living	Housing costs as a percentage of household income	Severe housing burden: monthly owner costs or gross rent in excess of 50% of household income	Dhongde and Haveman (2017) Glassman (2019) Dhongde et. al. (2019)	12.1%
Social Connections	English fluency	Lives in a household where no person, 14 and over, speaks English only or speaks a language other than English at home and speaks English very well	Dhongde and Haveman (2017) Glassman (2019) Dhongde et. al. (2019)	4.6%
Housing Quality	Number of persons per room in a housing unit	Overcrowding: unit has more than one occupant per room	Dhongde and Haveman (2017) Glassman (2019, 2021) Dhongde et. al. (2019)	6.2%

Average percentage is calculated using 12 years’ values and for non-elderly adults (18–64) below the threshold

Data on disability, education, and health insurance are available at the individual level. Data on housing costs, English fluency, and rooms per person is compiled at the household level and assigned to individuals within the household