List of U.S. states and territories by poverty rate
This list of U.S. states and territories by poverty rate covers the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the territory of Puerto Rico and their populations' poverty rate. The four other inhabited U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) are listed separately.
The data source for the main list is the U.S. Census Bureau's five-year American Community Survey taken 2016 - 2020.[1] The American Community Survey is a large demographic survey collected throughout the year using mailed questionnaires, telephone interviews, and visits from Census Bureau field representatives to about 3.5 million household addresses annually, regardless of their legal immigration status.
Overall, out of Americans for whom the Census Bureau was able to determine poverty status, 42.31 million lived below the poverty line (or 13.15% of the total population). Poverty rates were highest in the states of Mississippi (19.58%), Louisiana (18.65%), New Mexico (18.55%), West Virginia (17.10%), Kentucky (16.61%), and Arkansas (16.08%), and they were lowest in the states of New Hampshire (7.42%), Maryland (9.02%), Utah (9.13%), Hawaii (9.26%).
U.S. Census Bureau table
In the list below, the population in each state and territory of the U.S. by specific poverty status can be found. The list is initially sorted by poverty rate but the table headers can be clicked to sort by any column.[1]
State or territory | Population | Population under poverty line | Poverty rate |
---|---|---|---|
Puerto Rico | 3,227,457 | 1,400,958 | 43.41% |
Mississippi | 2,883,074 | 564,439 | 19.58% |
Louisiana | 4,532,187 | 845,230 | 18.65% |
New Mexico | 2,053,909 | 381,026 | 18.55% |
West Virginia | 1,755,591 | 300,152 | 17.10% |
Kentucky | 4,322,881 | 717,895 | 16.61% |
Arkansas | 2,923,585 | 470,190 | 16.08% |
Alabama | 4,771,614 | 762,642 | 15.98% |
District of Columbia | 669,089 | 103,391 | 15.45% |
Oklahoma | 3,833,712 | 585,520 | 15.27% |
South Carolina | 4,950,181 | 726,470 | 14.68% |
Tennessee | 6,603,468 | 965,213 | 14.62% |
Georgia | 10,238,369 | 1,461,572 | 14.28% |
Texas | 28,013,446 | 3,984,260 | 14.22% |
Arizona | 7,012,999 | 990,528 | 14.12% |
North Carolina | 10,098,330 | 1,411,939 | 13.98% |
Michigan | 9,753,541 | 1,337,256 | 13.71% |
Ohio | 11,350,378 | 1,546,011 | 13.62% |
New York | 19,009,098 | 2,581,048 | 13.58% |
Florida | 20,793,628 | 2,772,939 | 13.34% |
Missouri | 5,942,813 | 772,992 | 13.01% |
Indiana | 6,491,632 | 838,149 | 12.91% |
South Dakota | 849,910 | 108,863 | 12.81% |
Montana | 1,036,490 | 132,476 | 12.78% |
Nevada | 2,987,817 | 381,695 | 12.78% |
California | 38,589,882 | 4,853,434 | 12.58% |
Oregon | 4,096,744 | 506,558 | 12.36% |
Illinois | 12,418,504 | 1,488,670 | 11.99% |
Pennsylvania | 12,387,061 | 1,480,430 | 11.95% |
Idaho | 1,722,972 | 205,676 | 11.94% |
Rhode Island | 1,017,028 | 117,785 | 11.58% |
Kansas | 2,828,498 | 323,644 | 11.44% |
Delaware | 941,266 | 107,641 | 11.44% |
Iowa | 3,051,284 | 339,090 | 11.11% |
Maine | 1,304,038 | 144,384 | 11.07% |
Wisconsin | 5,659,485 | 620,947 | 10.97% |
Vermont | 599,938 | 64,700 | 10.78% |
Wyoming | 566,858 | 61,006 | 10.76% |
North Dakota | 735,842 | 77,491 | 10.53% |
Nebraska | 1,869,467 | 193,820 | 10.37% |
Alaska | 719,445 | 74,369 | 10.34% |
Washington | 7,372,433 | 751,044 | 10.19% |
Virginia | 8,255,575 | 826,708 | 10.01% |
Massachusetts | 6,637,329 | 653,454 | 9.85% |
Connecticut | 3,466,935 | 339,156 | 9.78% |
Colorado | 5,563,823 | 544,232 | 9.78% |
New Jersey | 8,713,792 | 842,704 | 9.67% |
Minnesota | 5,476,956 | 511,185 | 9.33% |
Hawaii | 1,381,577 | 127,971 | 9.26% |
Utah | 3,102,049 | 283,360 | 9.13% |
Maryland | 5,894,835 | 531,553 | 9.02% |
New Hampshire | 1,312,770 | 97,418 | 7.42% |
United States | 321,791,585 | 42,311,284 | 13.15% |
U.S. territories
Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands are data deficient (because they are not included in the American Community Survey), not all recent poverty rate estimates have been made for them. Below are the poverty rates for these territories in 2010.
Territory | 2010 Poverty rate |
---|---|
American Samoa | 59.9% |
Northern Mariana Islands | 52.3% |
Guam | 22.9% |
U.S. Virgin Islands | 22.4% |
USDA map
From United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).[2]
USDA table
- Row numbers are static. Other columns are sortable. This allows ranking of any column.
Links below are "Economy of STATE" links.
All people in poverty (2021) | Children ages 0-17 in poverty (2021) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
90% confidence interval of estimate | 90% confidence interval of estimate | |||||||||
States and D.C. | Percent | Lower Bound | Upper Bound | Percent | Lower Bound | Upper Bound | ||||
National | 12.8 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 16.9 | 16.7 | 17.1 | ||||
Alabama | 16.3 | 15.9 | 16.7 | 22.7 | 21.9 | 23.5 | ||||
Alaska | 10.8 | 10.3 | 11.3 | 13.5 | 12.7 | 14.3 | ||||
Arizona | 12.9 | 12.6 | 13.2 | 17.8 | 17.2 | 18.4 | ||||
Arkansas | 16 | 15.6 | 16.4 | 21.8 | 21 | 22.6 | ||||
California | 12.3 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 16.1 | ||||
Colorado | 9.7 | 9.5 | 9.9 | 11.8 | 11.2 | 12.4 | ||||
Connecticut | 10.1 | 9.8 | 10.4 | 12.9 | 12.2 | 13.6 | ||||
Delaware | 11.5 | 11 | 12 | 16.2 | 15.3 | 17.1 | ||||
District of Columbia | 16.8 | 15.9 | 17.7 | 25.5 | 22.5 | 28.5 | ||||
Florida | 13.2 | 13 | 13.4 | 18.4 | 17.8 | 19 | ||||
Georgia | 14.2 | 13.9 | 14.5 | 20.5 | 19.9 | 21.1 | ||||
Hawaii | 10.9 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 12.9 | 12 | 13.8 | ||||
Idaho | 10.8 | 10.3 | 11.3 | 12.5 | 11.7 | 13.3 | ||||
Illinois | 12.1 | 11.9 | 12.3 | 15.9 | 15.4 | 16.4 | ||||
Indiana | 12.1 | 11.8 | 12.4 | 15.7 | 15.1 | 16.3 | ||||
Iowa | 11 | 10.6 | 11.4 | 12.4 | 11.8 | 13 | ||||
Kansas | 11.6 | 11.2 | 12 | 13.5 | 12.8 | 14.2 | ||||
Kentucky | 16.3 | 16 | 16.6 | 21.2 | 20.5 | 21.9 | ||||
Louisiana | 19.5 | 19.1 | 19.9 | 26.9 | 26.1 | 27.7 | ||||
Maine | 11.2 | 10.7 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 12.9 | 14.7 | ||||
Maryland | 10.3 | 10 | 10.6 | 14 | 13.4 | 14.6 | ||||
Massachusetts | 10.4 | 10.2 | 10.6 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 13.4 | ||||
Michigan | 13 | 12.8 | 13.2 | 17.6 | 17.1 | 18.1 | ||||
Minnesota | 9.3 | 9.1 | 9.5 | 10.8 | 10.3 | 11.3 | ||||
Mississippi | 19.2 | 18.7 | 19.7 | 27.1 | 26.2 | 28 | ||||
Missouri | 12.8 | 12.5 | 13.1 | 16.5 | 15.9 | 17.1 | ||||
Montana | 12 | 11.5 | 12.5 | 14.9 | 14.1 | 15.7 | ||||
Nebraska | 10.5 | 10.1 | 10.9 | 12.1 | 11.3 | 12.9 | ||||
Nevada | 14 | 13.6 | 14.4 | 18.8 | 18 | 19.6 | ||||
New Hampshire | 7.4 | 7 | 7.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 | 10.1 | ||||
New Jersey | 10.2 | 10 | 10.4 | 13.9 | 13.3 | 14.5 | ||||
New Mexico | 17.7 | 17.1 | 18.3 | 23.1 | 22.1 | 24.1 | ||||
New York | 14 | 13.8 | 14.2 | 18.8 | 18.3 | 19.3 | ||||
North Carolina | 13.5 | 13.2 | 13.8 | 18.2 | 17.6 | 18.8 | ||||
North Dakota | 10.9 | 10.3 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 10.6 | 12.4 | ||||
Ohio | 13.3 | 13.1 | 13.5 | 18.2 | 17.7 | 18.7 | ||||
Oklahoma | 15.4 | 15.1 | 15.7 | 20.5 | 19.8 | 21.2 | ||||
Oregon | 12.2 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 14.5 | ||||
Pennsylvania | 12 | 11.8 | 12.2 | 16.3 | 15.7 | 16.9 | ||||
Rhode Island | 12.1 | 11.6 | 12.6 | 17 | 16.1 | 17.9 | ||||
South Carolina | 14.5 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 19.7 | 19 | 20.4 | ||||
South Dakota | 11.9 | 11.4 | 12.4 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 15.3 | ||||
Tennessee | 13.7 | 13.4 | 14 | 18.4 | 17.8 | 19 | ||||
Texas | 14.2 | 14 | 14.4 | 19.5 | 19 | 20 | ||||
Utah | 8.7 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 9.1 | ||||
Vermont | 10.2 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 12.1 | ||||
Virginia | 10.3 | 10.1 | 10.5 | 13.3 | 12.8 | 13.8 | ||||
Washington | 9.9 | 9.7 | 10.1 | 12 | 11.4 | 12.6 | ||||
West Virginia | 16.8 | 16.3 | 17.3 | 21.4 | 20.5 | 22.3 | ||||
Wisconsin | 10.8 | 10.6 | 11 | 13.6 | 13.1 | 14.1 | ||||
Wyoming | 10.6 | 9.9 | 11.3 | 12.1 | 11.1 | 13.1 |
Notes
These metrics are set at a federal level, and thus do not adjust for local cost of living metrics that change purchasing power. Census poverty rates that adjust for cost of living may be more useful for some purposes.[citation needed]
See also
- List of U.S. states and territories by income inequality
- List of lowest-income places in the United States
- List of lowest-income counties in the United States
- Thank God for Mississippi
References
- ^ a b "TABLE S1701 - POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS". Census - Table Results. U.S. Census Bureau. 17 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ a b Poverty by state. From United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
External links
- Definitions from Wiktionary
- Media from Commons
- News from Wikinews
- Quotations from Wikiquote
- Texts from Wikisource
- Textbooks from Wikibooks
- Resources from Wikiversity
- Total Number of People Living in Poverty based on Household Income (In Thousands), 2005. State Health Facts. December 14, 2007.
- Poverty Rate based on Household Income, 2005 . State Health Facts. December 14, 2007.
- Geographic Adjustments of Supplemental Poverty Measure Thresholds: Using the American Community Survey Five-Year Data on Housing Costs Accessed November 27, 2012.
- The Research Supplemental Poverty Measure Accessed June 5, 2014.
- [1]
- v
- t
- e
- Billionaires
- Budgets
- Companies
- Credit ratings
- Employment rates
- Exports and imports
- Federal tax revenue
- Federal taxation and spending
- Gross domestic product
- Income
- Median home prices
- Median wages
- Millionaire households
- Minimum wages
- Poverty rates
- R&D spending
- Sales taxes
- Savings rate
- Socioeconomic factors
- Sovereign wealth funds
- State income taxes
- Unemployment rates
- Union affiliation
- Vehicles per capita
- Agriculture commissioners
- Attorneys general
- Capitals
- Capitol buildings
- Comparison
- Congressional districts
- Counties
- Courts
- Governors
- Legislatures
- Libraries and archives
- Official languages
- Poets laureate
- Politics by state or territory
- State auditors
- State legislators
- Alabama–Missouri
- Montana–Wyoming
- State senators
- State secretaries of state
- State speakers
- State chief justices
- State presidents pro tempore
- State superintendents of education
- State supreme courts
- State treasurers
- Statewide elected executive officials
- Abortion
- Age of consent
- Alcohol
- Alford plea
- Cell phone use while driving
- Constitutions
- Firearms
- Homicide Rate
- Law enforcement agencies
- Legality of cannabis
- Peace Index
- Prisons
- Same-sex unions
- Seat belt laws
- Self-representation
- Smoking bans
- Speed limits (by jurisdiction)
- Statutory codes
- Violent Crime Rate
- Category
- Commons
- Portals