In recent years, the number of unemployed persons, low-income families, refugees and families in difficult life situations has increased, which has led to a decrease in the standard of living. The paper is devoted to the problem of poverty in the aspect of the analysis of rural areas and the quality of life of the rural population. The population of rural areas is more vulnerable and often lacks the factors necessary to improve the quality of life. Social problems in rural areas and factors of decreasing the quality of life and their consequences are shown. The analysis has showed that the main source of income for the able-bodied rural population is labor activity, including personal subsidiary farming. The poverty rate varies across the constituent entities of the Russian Federation from 3.8% to 43.3%. In general, the poverty level increased by 38% of the total number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2019.Despite the relative progress in solving social problems in rural areas in recent years, including that thanks to the implementation of measures of state programs, the quality of life of the rural population not only remains low level, but also tend to decrease. In this regard, the study of poverty as the main factor in reducing the quality of life of the rural population becomes relevant. In order to solve more effective the poverty problems, it is necessary to revise the principles of budgeting at different levels and introduce tools that have shown high efficiency in foreign countries.