Lowest-income counties in the US
Explore places with the lowest median household income, with uncertainty shown.
U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimatesPeriod: 2020–2024 ACS 5-yearRetrieved 2026-10-05T08:20:49+00:00
Ascending median household income: ACS B19013_001E. Low median income is not the same measure as the share of residents in poverty. All US counties and county equivalents with usable estimates. ACS 5-year pooled estimates; margins of error are at the 90% confidence level. Ranks do not imply statistically significant differences. Missing, suppressed, and annotated/top-coded estimates are excluded.
Ranks are competition ranks computed across the full filtered set.
| Rank | Name | State | Median household income | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owsley County | Kentucky | $22,188 ±$9,297 | 3,971 |
| 2 | Randolph County | Georgia | $28,380 ±$13,486 | 6,196 |
| 3 | Lake County | Tennessee | $28,814 ±$6,937 | 6,579 |
| 4 | Greene County | Alabama | $29,200 ±$5,134 | 7,424 |
| 5 | Wolfe County | Kentucky | $30,417 ±$10,309 | 6,443 |
| 6 | Bullock County | Alabama | $31,310 ±$9,971 | 10,058 |
| 7 | Bell County | Kentucky | $31,354 ±$3,340 | 23,509 |
| 8 | Issaquena County | Mississippi | $31,429 ±$18,551 | 928 |
| 9 | McDowell County | West Virginia | $31,559 ±$2,515 | 17,943 |
| 10 | Claiborne County | Mississippi | $31,897 ±$7,278 | 8,582 |
| 11 | Allendale County | South Carolina | $32,328 ±$7,995 | 7,661 |
| 12 | Quitman County | Mississippi | $32,412 ±$5,527 | 5,774 |
| 13 | Knox County | Kentucky | $32,527 ±$6,385 | 29,865 |
| 14 | Holmes County | Mississippi | $32,538 ±$4,202 | 16,191 |
| 15 | Claiborne Parish | Louisiana | $32,831 ±$2,551 | 13,833 |
| 16 | Magoffin County | Kentucky | $33,080 ±$6,707 | 11,348 |
| 17 | Stewart County | Georgia | $33,250 ±$7,733 | 4,869 |
| 18 | Sumter County | Alabama | $33,310 ±$6,329 | 11,878 |
| 19 | East Carroll Parish | Louisiana | $33,341 ±$8,407 | 7,072 |
| 20 | Humphreys County | Mississippi | $33,731 ±$5,616 | 7,395 |
| 21 | McCreary County | Kentucky | $33,750 ±$7,376 | 16,867 |
| 22 | Noxubee County | Mississippi | $33,833 ±$11,536 | 10,025 |
| 23 | Marlboro County | South Carolina | $34,301 ±$2,981 | 25,975 |
| 24 | Lee County | Arkansas | $34,375 ±$6,510 | 8,359 |
| 25 | Breathitt County | Kentucky | $34,808 ±$3,824 | 13,276 |
| 26 | Hancock County | Tennessee | $34,960 ±$3,992 | 6,852 |
| 27 | Bienville Parish | Louisiana | $35,011 ±$3,199 | 12,638 |
| 28 | Leflore County | Mississippi | $35,277 ±$3,844 | 27,141 |
| 29 | Wilkinson County | Mississippi | $35,311 ±$5,120 | 8,162 |
| 30 | Jackson County | South Dakota | $35,417 ±$21,129 | 2,802 |
| 31 | Madison Parish | Louisiana | $35,456 ±$4,475 | 9,513 |
| 32 | Dallas County | Alabama | $35,627 ±$3,641 | 36,858 |
| 33 | Leslie County | Kentucky | $35,934 ±$5,237 | 10,079 |
| 34 | Swisher County | Texas | $36,165 ±$14,512 | 6,937 |
| 35 | Marion County | South Carolina | $36,301 ±$5,615 | 28,664 |
| 36 | Luna County | New Mexico | $36,419 ±$4,439 | 25,611 |
| 37 | Socorro County | New Mexico | $36,570 ±$11,077 | 16,200 |
| 38 | Tensas Parish | Louisiana | $36,615 ±$4,366 | 3,935 |
| 39 | Zavala County | Texas | $36,749 ±$5,834 | 9,412 |
| 40 | Turner County | Georgia | $36,799 ±$6,080 | 8,939 |
| 41 | Costilla County | Colorado | $36,861 ±$6,112 | 3,607 |
| 42 | Martin County | Kentucky | $37,042 ±$10,562 | 11,027 |
| 43 | Lowndes County | Alabama | $37,052 ±$4,465 | 9,833 |
| 44 | Amite County | Mississippi | $37,222 ±$2,862 | 12,565 |
| 45 | Coahoma County | Mississippi | $37,461 ±$3,152 | 20,540 |
| 46 | Tallahatchie County | Mississippi | $37,466 ±$5,737 | 11,764 |
| 47 | Lee County | Kentucky | $37,568 ±$4,248 | 7,339 |
| 48 | Wayne County | Mississippi | $37,619 ±$5,069 | 19,718 |
| 49 | Starr County | Texas | $37,639 ±$4,431 | 66,067 |
| 50 | Perry County | Alabama | $37,654 ±$3,718 | 8,031 |
± figures are the published 90% margin of error; small differences between estimates may not be statistically significant.
3143 ranked entries.