In a recent Forbes article, we examined the United States poverty rate in terms of the 10 counties with the highest poverty rate and the 10 counties with the lowest poverty rate. On the national level, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau — namely, the 2019 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates — the U.S. poverty rate is 13.4%. This means that 13.4% of the national population lives below the poverty line. This is equal to more than approximately 42.5 million Americans living below the poverty line.
This time around, we’re looking at the counties in all 50 states that have the highest poverty level. The counties were chosen by those having the highest percentage of its households living below the poverty level income. Read on to find out which county has the highest poverty rate by state.
10 Counties With the Highest Poverty Rate by State
When looking at counties by poverty rate, some counties have seen improvement over the years while others have only deepened into impoverishment. In 20 of the most impoverished counties, the poverty rate has gotten worse over the last five years.
Here are the 10 counties with the highest poverty rate by state:
Todd County, South Dakota
- 2019 poverty rate: 55.5%
- 2014 poverty rate: 46.7%
- 5-year change: 8.8%
East Carroll Parish, Louisiana
- 2019 poverty rate: 44.6%
- 2014 poverty rate: 46.6%
- 5-year change: -2%
Holmes County, Mississippi
- 2019 poverty rate: 42.4%
- 2014 poverty rate: 43.9%
- 5-year change: -1.5%
Brooks County, Texas
- 2019 poverty rate: 41.4%
- 2014 poverty rate: 36%
- 5-year change: 5.4%
Clinch County, Georgia
- 2019 poverty rate: 40.2%
- 2014 poverty rate: 34.6%
- 5-year change: 5.6%
Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska
- 2019 poverty rate: 39%
- 2014 poverty rate: N/A
- 5-year change: N/A
Sioux County, North Dakota
- 2019 poverty rate: 38.2%
- 2014 poverty rate: 36.4%
- 5-year change: 1.8%
Greene County, Alabama
- 2019 poverty rate: 38.1%
- 2014 poverty rate: 36.6%
- 5-year change: 1.5%
Leslie County, Kentucky
- 2019 poverty rate: 38%
- 2014 poverty rate: 23.9%
- 5-year change: 14.1%
Apache County, Arizona
- 2019 poverty rate: 35.5%
- 2014 poverty rate: 35.9%
- 5-year change: -0.4%
50 Counties With the Highest Poverty Rate by State
Below you’ll find a table that contains each county with the highest poverty level in all 50 states, for both 2019 and 2014, and the five-year change.