28.6% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Cedar Vale Unified School District 285, KS (269 out of 942 people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Males 45 - 54, followed by Females 25 - 34 and then Males < 5.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Cedar Vale Unified School District 285, KS is White, followed by Two Or More and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.