Connecticut’s poverty picture has taken a sharp turn. A report released Tuesday by the New Haven‑based policy group CT Voices for Children finds the state’s overall poverty rate has risen to 10.6% in 2025 – higher than the 9.3% level recorded before the pandemic. The increase follows the expiration of pandemic‑era assistance and the rollout of sweeping federal benefit cuts enacted last year.
Pandemic gains erased
During the height of the COVID‑19 crisis, Connecticut saw its poverty rate fall from 9.3% in 2019 to 7% in 2021 as stimulus payments, expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit benefits lifted families out of hardship. The new report shows that those gains have been wiped out, with the rate climbing to 10.6% – roughly 385,500 residents, including 91,400 children, now living in poverty.
Who is most at risk?
The analysis highlights several groups that are disproportionately affected: women, Black and Hispanic residents, non‑citizens and, most notably, children. Using the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the child poverty rate fell dramatically from 9.8% in 2019 to 3.8% in 2021, only to rebound to 12.5% by 2025.
Key benefit programs under threat
CT Voices for Children points to four major anti‑poverty programs that have historically lifted residents out of poverty. SNAP (food assistance) was the fourth‑largest poverty‑reducing measure, pulling 48,100 people – including 15,900 children – out of poverty. Medicaid, the largest health‑related poverty‑reducer, lifted 189,400 residents (72,800 children) by reducing the poverty rate by 5.2 percentage points. Social Security remains the single biggest driver, lowering the poverty rate by 8.5 points and helping nearly 311,000 residents, especially seniors.
Federal cuts and state response
The report warns that new federal work‑requirements and eligibility rules slated for 2027 could remove roughly 110,000 adults from Medicaid, while ongoing cuts to SNAP and potential reductions to Social Security funding could exacerbate the trend. The authors argue that without state‑level countermeasures, Connecticut families will face deeper hardship.
Governor Ned Lamont’s office has not yet commented, but the administration has already taken steps to cushion the impact. State funds have been directed to Connecticut Foodshare and the governor has pledged grocery‑store gift cards for residents who lose SNAP benefits. Advocates, however, say those measures are short‑term fixes and call for more permanent solutions, such as a state‑run nutrition assistance program that could replace parts of SNAP and a publicly funded health option.
Why the story matters to local families
For parents and grandparents watching their children’s well‑being slip, the data underscores the importance of robust safety‑net programs. As the report notes, “We can allow federal budget cuts to deepen hardship, or we can make deliberate investments to protect Connecticut residents and strengthen economic security for everyone in our state.” The findings give community leaders, faith‑based groups and families concrete evidence to push for policies that safeguard the most vulnerable.
CT Voices for Children hopes the report will spur policymakers to act before the projected benefit cuts take full effect, preserving the progress made during the pandemic and ensuring that Connecticut’s families can thrive.
Original reporting: The Connecticut Mirror — read the source article.
