US Counties With the Highest Child Poverty Rate, Ages 0-17

3,142 US counties ranked by child poverty rate, ages 0-17, from highest to lowest. First are Issaquena County, MS (63.2%), Ziebach County, SD (55.7%) and Clay County, KY (53.6%). The middle one of the 3,142 has 17.9%.

What this measures

The percentage of children under 18 in poverty. It is an estimate from a statistical model, combining survey answers with tax and food-assistance records. Source: Census SAIPE.

For most measures, a national ranking mostly sorts places by income and by how urban they are. Each county’s own page compares it with the 50 counties most like it instead, which is often the fairer view.

The 100 highest counties

Rank	County	%
1	Issaquena County, MS	63.2%
2	Ziebach County, SD	55.7%
3	Clay County, KY	53.6%
4	Martin County, KY	53.2%
5	East Carroll Parish, LA	52.8%
6	Sharkey County, MS	51.5%
7	Perry County, AL	50.3%
8	Wilcox County, AL	48.5%
9	Madison Parish, LA	48.1%
10	Tensas Parish, LA	47.1%
11	Humphreys County, MS	47.1%
12	Washington County, MS	46.9%
13	Greene County, AL	46.8%
14	Dallas County, AL	46.5%
15	Catahoula Parish, LA	46.1%
16	Lee County, AR	46.1%
17	Barnwell County, SC	45.8%
18	Holmes County, MS	45.7%
19	Quitman County, MS	45.6%
20	St. Francis County, AR	45.6%
21	Menominee County, WI	45.5%
22	Bolivar County, MS	45.4%
23	Sumter County, AL	45.4%
24	Lake County, TN	45.2%
25	Phillips County, AR	45.2%
26	Talbot County, GA	45.1%
27	Morehouse Parish, LA	45%
28	Brooks County, TX	45%
29	Sumter County, GA	44.7%
30	Allendale County, SC	44.6%
31	Hancock County, GA	44.1%
32	Zapata County, TX	43.9%
33	Jefferson County, FL	43.3%
34	Knox County, KY	43.3%
35	Conecuh County, AL	43.1%
36	Scotland County, NC	42.9%
37	Duval County, TX	42.8%
38	Coahoma County, MS	42.6%
39	Zavala County, TX	42.5%
40	Telfair County, GA	42.2%
41	Winston County, MS	42.1%
42	Lowndes County, AL	42.1%
43	Owsley County, KY	42%
44	Macon County, GA	41.9%
45	McKinley County, NM	41.8%
46	McCreary County, KY	41.7%
47	Claiborne County, MS	41.7%
48	Halifax County, NC	41.6%
49	Tunica County, MS	41.5%
50	Terrell County, GA	40.9%
51	Randolph County, GA	40.8%
52	Oglala Lakota County, SD	40.7%
53	Quitman County, GA	40.6%
54	Macon County, AL	40.6%
55	Hudspeth County, TX	40.5%
56	Jefferson County, MS	40.4%
57	Corson County, SD	40.4%
58	Calhoun County, GA	40.3%
59	Tallahatchie County, MS	40.3%
60	Marion County, GA	40.1%
61	Bullock County, AL	39.8%
62	Crisp County, GA	39.7%
63	Taliaferro County, GA	39.7%
64	Sunflower County, MS	39.6%
65	Wolfe County, KY	39.5%
66	Warren County, GA	39.4%
67	Sioux County, ND	39.3%
68	Taylor County, GA	39.2%
69	Baker County, GA	39.1%
70	Clay County, GA	39%
71	Edgecombe County, NC	39%
72	Leflore County, MS	38.9%
73	Alexander County, IL	38.8%
74	Bell County, KY	38.4%
75	Early County, GA	38.3%
76	Jefferson Davis County, MS	38.3%
77	Buffalo County, SD	38.1%
78	Monroe County, AR	38.1%
79	Robeson County, NC	37.9%
80	Todd County, SD	37.9%
81	Luna County, NM	37.6%
82	Claiborne Parish, LA	37.5%
83	Butler County, AL	37.4%
84	Breathitt County, KY	37.3%
85	Avoyelles Parish, LA	37.3%
86	Hidalgo County, TX	37.3%
87	Stewart County, GA	37.2%
88	Chicot County, AR	37.2%
89	Costilla County, CO	37.2%
90	Turner County, GA	37.1%
91	Richland Parish, LA	37.1%
92	Noxubee County, MS	37.1%
93	Perry County, KY	37%
94	Starr County, TX	37%
95	Dougherty County, GA	36.9%
96	McDowell County, WV	36.9%
97	Harmon County, OK	36.8%
98	Hall County, TX	36.8%
99	Webster County, WV	36.8%
100	Vance County, NC	36.7%

Every state, highest first

Each state’s own published figure, not an average of its counties.

Rank	State	%
1	Louisiana	25.2%
2	Mississippi	24.3%
3	New Mexico	22.6%
4	Alabama	21.3%
5	District of Columbia	20.7%
6	Oklahoma	20.5%
7	Kentucky	20.2%
8	Arkansas	20.2%
9	West Virginia	19.6%
10	Tennessee	18.9%
11	Georgia	18.8%
12	South Carolina	18.8%
13	New York	18.6%
14	Texas	18.4%
15	Michigan	17.5%
16	North Carolina	17.5%
17	Ohio	17.5%
18	Nevada	16.4%
19	Florida	16%
20	Arizona	15.8%
21	Pennsylvania	15.5%
22	Delaware	15.4%
23	Indiana	15.1%
24	Rhode Island	15.1%
25	California	15%
26	Illinois	14.7%
27	Missouri	14.7%
28	Oregon	13.6%
29	South Dakota	13.5%
30	Kansas	13.1%
31	Iowa	13%
32	Connecticut	13%
33	Montana	12.8%
34	New Jersey	12.8%
35	Wisconsin	12.8%
36	Massachusetts	12.7%
37	Virginia	12.7%
38	Maine	12.6%
39	Alaska	12.5%
40	Washington	12.1%
41	Wyoming	12%
42	Hawaii	11.8%
43	Idaho	11.3%
44	Maryland	11.3%
45	Nebraska	11.1%
46	Colorado	10.9%
47	Minnesota	10.2%
48	Vermont	10.2%
49	North Dakota	10.1%
50	Utah	9.2%
51	New Hampshire	8.2%

More on child poverty rate, ages 0-17

A ranking describes places, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All US rankings.