low income
Barely scraping by
Low income describes earnings or revenue below a certain threshold, typically one that qualifies for government assistance or indicates financial hardship.
The term appears in policy contexts—low-income housing, low-income families—and often serves as a euphemism for poor.
What counts as low income varies by region, family size, and the program defining it.
- povertySevere lack of resources
- below the lineNon-recurring financial items
- wagesPayment for work
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
- paycheckCompensation for labor
making ends meet · minimum · debt · affordable · working-class · hardship · bills · rent · rent burden · assistance · welfare · social safety net · broke · tight · tight budget · scraping · food stamps · food insecurity
- income levelsupper class, middle class, poverty line, poverty level, poverty threshold
- poverty factorsdeprivation, hardship, joblessness, inequality, scarcity
- wealth statuspoor, rich, wealthy, affluent, middle-class
- Global Povertymalnutrition, starvation, food security, clean water, dirty water
- Wealth Classespoor, rich, wealthy, affluent, millionaires
- welfarewelfare, welfare reform, welfare system, SNAP benefits, public assistance
low incomehigh income
Large earnings bracket
wealthy · affluent · rich · well-off · prosperous
low incomeupper class
Wealthiest societal stratum
privileged · elite · old money · aristocratic · bourgeois