Human Needs Index
Discover more about how The Salvation Army
shows those in need
love beyond hardship
About the Index
HNI Overview
The Human Needs Index was developed by The Salvation Army National Headquarters in collaboration with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. It is a timely, multidimensional measure of human need and poverty-related vulnerability across the United States.
Unlike traditional measures based solely on income, the HNI draws on data from Salvation Army service locations nationwide — capturing a street-level view of need. It brings together service indicators spanning core categories of need. Dataset coverage and update timing are documented with each published release.
The result is one of the most immediate and intimate portraits of poverty available to policy makers, social service providers, and researchers in the country.
Data current-through date has not been published.
Measuring Poverty
The Limitation
Official national poverty data have long been calculated using a single dimension: income. At best, income statistics provide only a hazy picture of the actual conditions facing the hungry, the homeless, the unemployed, and the underemployed.
The HNI is a multidimensional way to measure poverty and its effects. The key lies in the street-level knowledge of The Salvation Army, one of the country's largest nonprofits delivering a safety net of services to those in need.
A New Approach
Developed from data amassed since 2004, the HNI provides a view of trends in poverty and vulnerability. Dataset coverage and publication timing are documented with each release for policy makers, social services providers, and researchers.
Unlike other traditional measures, the HNI comprises indicators that represent need substantiated on consumption rather than income. Its greatest strength is that it illustrates a more intimate portrayal of need than any other index.
Another important contribution is that it provides a reliable instrument for measuring human need in near real time, and for tracking trends over time.
Explore The Human Needs Index
Learn more about how the Human Needs Index measures need, tracks trends, and supports research for policy makers and social service providers.