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%), and Minnesota (9.33%).

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]

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[edit]

Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, 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.

These metrics are set at a federal level, and thus do not adjust for local cost of living metrics that vastly change purchasing power. For useful metrics, look at census poverty rates that adjust for cost of living.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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