OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to compare the associations of state-referenced and federal poverty measures with states' infant and child mortality rates. METHODS: Compressed mortality and Current Population Survey data were used to examine relationships between mortality and (1) state-referenced poverty (percentage of children below half the state median income) and (2) percentage of children below the federal poverty line. RESULTS: State-referenced poverty was not associated with mortality among infants or children, whereas poverty as defined by national standards was strongly related to mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Infant and child mortality is more closely tied to families' capacity for meeting basic needs than to relative position within a state's economic hierarchy.