A 2023 survey found that nearly one in five menstruating college or university students in the U.S. has faced period poverty, meaning they have felt forced to decide between purchasing menstrual products and meeting other personal costs (paying bills, buying food, or any other mandatory expense).
Percentage of female college students in the U.S. who have felt forced to decide between menstrual products and other personal costs in 2023
Menstruating college/university students from Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Harvard, NYU, and University of Central Florida*
Method of interview
Online survey
Supplementary notes
Original question: Have you ever felt forced to decide between purchasing menstrual products and meeting other personal costs (paying bills, buying food, or any other mandatory expense)?
* The colleges varied in size, socioeconomic status, and location to capture the pervasiveness of period poverty across college campuses and the impact of the rising costs of living.
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Intimina. (September 22, 2023). Percentage of female college students in the U.S. who have felt forced to decide between menstrual products and other personal costs in 2023 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1424077/us-college-students-period-poverty/
Intimina. "Percentage of female college students in the U.S. who have felt forced to decide between menstrual products and other personal costs in 2023." Chart. September 22, 2023. Statista. Accessed November 24, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1424077/us-college-students-period-poverty/
Intimina. (2023). Percentage of female college students in the U.S. who have felt forced to decide between menstrual products and other personal costs in 2023. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 24, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1424077/us-college-students-period-poverty/
Intimina. "Percentage of Female College Students in The U.S. Who Have Felt Forced to Decide between Menstrual Products and Other Personal Costs in 2023." Statista, Statista Inc., 22 Sep 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1424077/us-college-students-period-poverty/
Intimina, Percentage of female college students in the U.S. who have felt forced to decide between menstrual products and other personal costs in 2023 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1424077/us-college-students-period-poverty/ (last visited November 24, 2024)
Percentage of female college students in the U.S. who have felt forced to decide between menstrual products and other personal costs in 2023 [Graph], Intimina, September 22, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1424077/us-college-students-period-poverty/
