List of U.S. states and territories by poverty rate

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Percent of Americans living below the poverty line in each U.S. state, and the District of Columbia. U.S. Census Bureau. Poverty rates by state. US map.svg
Percent of Americans living below the poverty line in each U.S. state, and the District of Columbia. U.S. Census Bureau.

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. Referenced data for the four other inhabited U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) has not been found so far.

Contents

The data source for the main list is the American Community Survey done by the U.S. Census Bureau. [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, 40.8 million lived below the poverty line in 2023 (or 12.5% of the total population). [1] See the table below for the highest poverty rates by state.

2023 U.S. Census Bureau table

The list is initially sorted by poverty rate but the table headers can be clicked to sort by any column. Links are "Economy of Area" links.

Number and percentage of people in poverty by state, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Plus margin of error. 2023. [1]
AreaPercentError (±)NumberError (±)
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 12.50.140,763,043277,214
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 39.60.81,257,60726,856
Flag of Louisiana.svg  Louisiana 18.90.6840,14627,162
Flag of Mississippi.svg  Mississippi 18.00.8512,18421,949
Flag of New Mexico.svg  New Mexico 17.80.9368,66918,140
Flag of West Virginia.svg  West Virginia 16.70.7285,78011,676
Flag of Kentucky.svg  Kentucky 16.40.5720,64220,801
Flag of Oklahoma.svg  Oklahoma 15.90.4626,18515,929
Flag of Arkansas.svg  Arkansas 15.70.6466,62419,172
Flag of Alabama.svg  Alabama 15.60.5773,16624,550
Flag of New York.svg  New York 14.20.32,702,95550,606
Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  District of Columbia 14.01.691,06810,115
Flag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee 14.00.4978,46030,784
Flag of South Carolina.svg  South Carolina 13.90.5726,79924,733
Flag of Texas.svg  Texas 13.70.34,086,85175,298
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia 13.60.41,461,31738,018
Flag of Michigan.svg  Michigan 13.50.31,326,74027,989
Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio 13.30.31,527,90436,156
Flag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina 12.80.41,349,30238,975
Flag of Arizona.svg  Arizona 12.40.4905,41832,734
Flag of Florida.svg  Florida 12.30.32,729,51962,129
Flag of Indiana.svg  Indiana 12.30.4821,40124,875
Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon 12.20.4506,54417,185
Flag of California.svg  California 12.00.24,588,68771,646
Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri 12.00.4720,21024,684
Flag of Nevada.svg  Nevada 12.00.7377,50620,633
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania 12.00.31,500,95935,821
Flag of South Dakota.svg  South Dakota 11.81.0104,6848,555
Flag of Montana.svg  Montana 11.70.7129,8047,386
Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois 11.60.21,426,51730,335
Flag of Iowa.svg  Iowa 11.30.5351,22414,199
Flag of Wyoming.svg  Wyoming 11.31.164,3096,371
Flag of Kansas.svg  Kansas 11.20.5319,65214,831
Flag of Rhode Island.svg  Rhode Island 10.81.0114,41210,758
Flag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin 10.70.3616,87419,150
Flag of Delaware.svg  Delaware 10.51.0106,02710,289
Flag of Nebraska.svg  Nebraska 10.50.7202,07812,736
Flag of Alaska.svg  Alaska 10.40.874,3535,930
Flag of Maine.svg  Maine 10.40.6140,4608,588
Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts 10.40.4706,73024,578
Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut 10.30.5362,02417,748
Flag of Washington.svg  Washington 10.30.3794,42626,113
Flag of Virginia.svg  Virginia 10.20.3864,39426,897
Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii 10.10.7141,92510,218
Flag of Idaho.svg  Idaho 10.10.7193,63512,891
Flag of North Dakota.svg  North Dakota 9.80.773,8415,342
Flag of New Jersey.svg  New Jersey 9.70.3886,77227,839
Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont 9.70.860,4134,904
Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland 9.50.3574,16020,592
Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado 9.30.4536,50722,964
Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota 9.30.3520,60217,281
Flag of Utah.svg  Utah 9.00.5304,24915,931
Flag of New Hampshire.svg  New Hampshire 7.20.697,9358,712

2016-2020 county map

Percent of Americans living below the poverty line in each county of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico according to the 2016 - 2020 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. Poverty in the U.S. by county.png
Percent of Americans living below the poverty line in each county of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico according to the 2016 - 2020 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Benson, Craig (September 2024). "Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2023. American Community Survey Briefs" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Appendix Table 1 on page 11. "Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 and 2023 American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, and 2022 and 2023 Puerto Rico Community Survey."