In 1966, amidst America's emerging War on Poverty, President Johnson appointed the National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty to draw attention to this comparatively hidden problem, explore its unique causes and consequences, and offer possible solutions. In its report, The People Left Behind, the Commission boldly concluded that"[we are] convinced that the abolition of rural poverty in the United States, perhaps for the first time in any nation, is completely feasible”(National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty 1967, xi). A generation later, that vision remains as elusive as ever. The enigma of poverty amidst plenty persists in both rural and urban America. Rural poverty continues to be of equal if not greater severity than urban poverty, yet remains much more hidden from view. In this chapter, we discuss prevailing definitions of poverty, provide a statistical portrait of rural poverty in the United States today, review theory and evidence regarding the etiology of poverty, discuss household and community strategies to cope with rural poverty, and consider policy options.