This report presents data on the income and poverty status of families and persons in the United States for the calendar year 1987. These data were compiled from information collected in the March 1988 Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the Bureau of the Census. The survey consisted of about 60,000 households nationwide and was designed to produce reliable national· estimates, although some data by region and metropolitan residence were also compiled and appear in this report. The income and poverty estimates in this report are based solely on money income before taxes and do not include the value of noncash benefits such as food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, public housing, and employer-provided fringe benefits such as health and life insurance and use of company automobiles or stock options. For a further discussion of valuing noncash benefits and their effect on poverty, see the section discussing experimental estimates of poverty. The estimates in this report represent the Government's official poverty estimates.