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.
The data source for the main list is the American Community Survey done by the U.S. Census Bureau. 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). 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. 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." Area Percent Error (±) Number Error (±) 12.5 0.1 40,763,043 277,214 39.6 0.8 1,257,607 26,856 18.9 0.6 840,146 27,162 18.0 0.8 512,184 21,949 17.8 0.9 368,669 18,140 16.7 0.7 285,780 11,676 16.4 0.5 720,642 20,801 15.9 0.4 626,185 15,929 15.7 0.6 466,624 19,172 15.6 0.5 773,166 24,550 14.2 0.3 2,702,955 50,606 14.0 1.6 91,068 10,115 14.0 0.4 978,460 30,784 13.9 0.5 726,799 24,733 13.7 0.3 4,086,851 75,298 13.6 0.4 1,461,317 38,018 13.5 0.3 1,326,740 27,989 13.3 0.3 1,527,904 36,156 12.8 0.4 1,349,302 38,975 12.4 0.4 905,418 32,734 12.3 0.3 2,729,519 62,129 12.3 0.4 821,401 24,875 12.2 0.4 506,544 17,185 12.0 0.2 4,588,687 71,646 12.0 0.4 720,210 24,684 12.0 0.7 377,506 20,633 12.0 0.3 1,500,959 35,821 11.8 1.0 104,684 8,555 11.7 0.7 129,804 7,386 11.6 0.2 1,426,517 30,335 11.3 0.5 351,224 14,199 11.3 1.1 64,309 6,371 11.2 0.5 319,652 14,831 10.8 1.0 114,412 10,758 10.7 0.3 616,874 19,150 10.5 1.0 106,027 10,289 10.5 0.7 202,078 12,736 10.4 0.8 74,353 5,930 10.4 0.6 140,460 8,588 10.4 0.4 706,730 24,578 10.3 0.5 362,024 17,748 10.3 0.3 794,426 26,113 10.2 0.3 864,394 26,897 10.1 0.7 141,925 10,218 10.1 0.7 193,635 12,891 9.8 0.7 73,841 5,342 9.7 0.3 886,772 27,839 9.7 0.8 60,413 4,904 9.5 0.3 574,160 20,592 9.3 0.4 536,507 22,964 9.3 0.3 520,602 17,281 9.0 0.5 304,249 15,931 7.2 0.6 97,935 8,712
2016-2020 county map
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
External links 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.