This paper provides an overview of poverty in North America: in Mexico, the United States and Canada. It begins with an overview of growth and inequality in the three countries. The second section of the paper presents concepts and measures of poverty and reports the overall incidence of poverty in the three countries using various measures. The third section explores the relationship between the level of economic development and poverty, both between and within countries. The fourth section looks at the relationships between household composition and poverty and between race/ethnicity and poverty in the US and Mexico. The final section briefly raises policy issues that emerge from the analysis.