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

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Proportion of Americans living below the poverty line in each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of the 2016 - 2020 American Community Survey
Proportion 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

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

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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]

U.S. territories

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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

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From United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).[2]

USDA table

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  • 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. Percent. 2021. US Department of Agriculture (USDA).[2]
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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b Poverty by state. From United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
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