Platform · Glossary
Poverty rate.
The share of households in a geography with income below the federal poverty line, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and reported through ACS. The poverty line varies by household size; a four-person household had a poverty threshold of roughly $30,000 in the most recent reporting year.
In 3Y's benchmark table, poverty rate is marked explicitly as a negative metric where lower is better — the in-product tooltip reads: "Share of residents below the federal poverty line. This is a negative metric, where lower is better."
How 3Y uses it
Poverty rate is one of several structural inputs to the location score, alongside median income, employment, education, and housing affordability. It serves as a risk indicator at the tract level — high poverty rates correlate with elevated turnover, more difficult collections, higher maintenance reactivity, and structurally weaker rent growth.
A word on how 3Y handles it
Poverty data describes economic conditions; it does not describe people. 3Y treats poverty rate as a structural input to a risk score, not as a judgment about residents or a basis for excluding markets. Investors operate across the full economic spectrum, and properties at every income tier can perform well or poorly depending on operations. The poverty rate is a number to understand, not a label to apply.