Counties With The Highest And Lowest Poverty Rates In The U.S.

Despite America’s great wealth and having the largest economy in the world, poverty remains a major issue. 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 nationally 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.

The good news at least is that the poverty rate has improved over time. In 2014, the share of the U.S. population living below the poverty line was 15.6%, equivalent to more than 47.7 million Americans. In a previous Forbes study we analyzed the poverty rates by state. Here, we will look at U.S. poverty rates by county.

10 Counties With the Highest Poverty Rate in America

When looking at counties by poverty rate, one thing that is discouraging is that many of the most impoverished counties have actually gotten worse over the last five years. For instance, Todd County, South Dakota, had a poverty rate of 46.7% in 2014, but five years later, it rose to 55.5%.

Here are the 10 counties with the highest poverty rates as of the latest Census data:

1. Todd County, South Dakota: 55.5% of population lives below the poverty line
2. Mellette County, South Dakota: 52.8% of population lives below the poverty line
3. Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota: 46.2% of population lives below the poverty line
4. Jackson County, South Dakota: 45.4% of population lives below the poverty line
5. Corson County, South Dakota: 44.8% of population lives below the poverty line
6. East Carroll Parish, Louisiana: 44.6% of population lives below the poverty line
7. Ziebach County, South Dakota: 42.5% of population lives below the poverty line
8. Holmes County, Mississippi: 42.4% of population lives below the poverty line
9. Brooks County, Texas: 41.4% of population lives below the poverty line
10. Claiborne County, Mississippi: 41% of population lives below the poverty line

South Dakota has six counties that rank among the counties with the highest poverty rate in the U.S. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas each have one county among these ten most impoverished counties. Some of these counties have seen large increases in poverty levels. One of the worst is Jackson County, South Dakota, where the poverty rate stood at 27.6% in 2014; five years later, the poverty rate soared to 45.4% in 2019.

In fact, Jackson County, South Dakota, experienced the greatest increase in poverty rate from 2014 to 2019, with an increase of 17.8%. This is followed by Presidio County, Texas, which increased by 17.6%, from a poverty rate of 21.4% in 2014, to a poverty rate of 39% in 2019. Another South Dakota county, Mellette County, witnessed the third largest increased in its poverty level, from 37.9% in 2014 to 52.8% in 2019, an increase of 14.9% in five years.

10 Counties With the Lowest Poverty Rate in America

Looking on the flipside, many U.S. counties boast poverty rates that are well below the national average of 13.4%, with several having poverty rates that are less than 10%, which is an impressive feat. Here are the 10 counties with the lowest poverty rates:

1. Sterling County, Texas: 2.4% of population lives below the poverty line
2. Borden County, Texas: 2.6% of population lives below the poverty line
3. Morgan County, Utah: 2.8% of population lives below the poverty line
4. Douglas County, Colorado: 3.1% of population lives below the poverty line
5. Wichita County, Kansas: 3.3% of population lives below the poverty line
6. Loudoun County, Virginia: 3.4% of population lives below the poverty line
7. Daggett County, Utah: 3.5% of population lives below the poverty line
8. Renville County, North Dakota: 3.7% of population lives below the poverty line
9. Jeff Davis County, Texas: 3.9% of population lives below the poverty line
10. Campbell County, South Dakota: 4% of population lives below the poverty line

Sterling County, Texas, is an outstanding case in terms of its poverty rate. Over the last five years, its poverty rate dropped 18%, from 20.4% in 2014, down to a mere 2.4% in 2019. Perhaps what has driven this decline is the growth of the county’s energy sector. According to Data USA, the Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction industry employs 23.5% of inhabitants; that’s up from only 14.5% five years ago.