placestats

Poverty rate

The percentage of people whose family income is below the federal poverty line. The line depends on how many people are in the family and their ages.

Reported for3,149areas, in 52 states
Link to density0.07not mostly about how urban a place is
Nearby places alike0.68Moran’s I: strongly, neighbouring places tend to be similar
Typerate%

How it has moved

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Every state, every year

One row per state and one column per year, sorted by the latest value. It shows states, not counties: nobody can scan 3,222 rows, and the pattern only shows when it all fits on one screen.

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Where it comes from

Census ACS 5-year · ACS table B17001_002, divided by population for whom poverty status is determined

When areas are combined, each gets weight by the number of people whose poverty status the Census can check, not by total population.

Combining areas: an average weighted by population for whom poverty status is determined.

What it goes with

The strongest links that have a page of their own. Unadjusted is the link before adjusting for anything, from −1 (opposite) to +1 (in step). Adjusted compares places with the same population density, income and education levels, so those differences can’t explain the link. This list leaves out the 51 pairs built from the same numbers or the same model as this measure, since they are bound to match.

MeasureUnadjustedAdjusted
Poverty rate and Median household incomeWhere Poverty rate is higher, Median household income tends to be lower: a strong link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Median household income by US county-0.75-0.76
Poverty rate and Returns claiming the earned income creditWhere Poverty rate is higher, Returns claiming the earned income credit tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Returns claiming the earned income credit by US county+0.81+0.62
Poverty rate and Homicide rate, annualWhere Poverty rate is higher, Homicide rate, annual tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Homicide rate, annual by US county+0.72+0.55
Poverty rate and Share White, not HispanicWhere Poverty rate is higher, Share White, not Hispanic tends to be lower: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share White, not Hispanic by US county-0.47-0.54
Poverty rate and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceWhere Poverty rate is higher, Share Hispanic or Latino, any race tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county+0.54+0.51
Poverty rate and Premature mortalityWhere Poverty rate is higher, Premature mortality tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Premature mortality by US county+0.74+0.50
Poverty rate and Social connection scoreWhere Poverty rate is higher, Social connection score tends to be lower: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Social connection score by US county-0.55-0.50
Poverty rate and Children in single-parent householdsWhere Poverty rate is higher, Children in single-parent households tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Children in single-parent households by US county+0.68+0.50
Poverty rate and Years of potential life lostWhere Poverty rate is higher, Years of potential life lost tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Years of potential life lost by US county+0.72+0.49
Poverty rate and Homicide rateWhere Poverty rate is higher, Homicide rate tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Homicide rate by US county+0.67+0.48

Population makeup

How this measure varies with the racial and ethnic makeup of counties. Every group is shown, whatever its rank. These are links across counties: they describe places, not people. They say nothing about any person’s risk or behaviour based on their race. Counties with a larger share of one group also differ in much else, such as income, segregation, region and history. The adjusted figure only accounts for density, income and education.

Share of residentsUnadjustedAdjusted
Poverty rate and Share White, not HispanicWhere Poverty rate is higher, Share White, not Hispanic tends to be lower: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share White, not Hispanic by US county-0.47-0.54
Poverty rate and Share Black, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Black, not Hispanic by US county+0.37+0.19
Poverty rate and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceWhere Poverty rate is higher, Share Hispanic or Latino, any race tends to be higher: a moderate link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county+0.54+0.51
Poverty rate and Share Asian, not HispanicWhere Poverty rate is higher, Share Asian, not Hispanic tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Asian, not Hispanic by US county-0.19+0.24
Poverty rate and Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not HispanicWhere Poverty rate is higher, Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic by US county+0.19+0.37

Highest and lowest

Of 3,149 counties reporting it. These are the two ends of a national ranking. For most measures, that ranking mostly sorts places by income and how urban they are. That is why the place pages compare each place with similar places instead.

Highest

  1. Guánica Municipio, PR — 64.7%
  2. Adjuntas Municipio, PR — 61.9%
  3. Vieques Municipio, PR — 59.5%
  4. Ciales Municipio, PR — 58.2%
  5. Jayuya Municipio, PR — 54.9%

Lowest

  1. Nantucket County, MA — 3.03%
  2. Douglas County, CO — 3.23%
  3. Powhatan County, VA — 3.26%
  4. Falls Church city, VA — 3.64%
  5. Hunterdon County, NJ — 3.85%

The middle area reports 13.5%. The middle half of counties falls between 10.2% and 17.9% (the 25th to 75th percentile).

All measures · Explore its pairs · How the US county data works