Poverty Rate by State: 2025 Rankings and Trends Based on Latest Census Data

Poverty remains one of the most persistent and geographically uneven challenges in the United States. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data from the 2023 American Community Survey, the national poverty rate stood at 11.1%, but state-level rates varied dramatically—from a low of 7.2% in New Hampshire to a high of 18.8% in Mississippi. This article provides a comprehensive ranking of poverty rates for all 50 states, examines recent year-over-year and 10-year trends, and explains the key factors behind these disparities.

Key Numbers

• National poverty rate (2023): 11.1%
• Highest state poverty rate: Mississippi, 18.8%
• Lowest state poverty rate: New Hampshire, 7.2%
• Number of states above the national average: 17
• Poverty threshold for a family of four (2023): $30,900
• Year-over-year change (2022–2023): -0.4 percentage points
• 10-year change (2013–2023): -3.4 percentage points
• Region with the highest poverty rates: South

Explanation

The poverty rate is the percentage of people in a given area whose family income falls below the official poverty threshold set by the U.S. Census Bureau. The threshold varies by family size and composition; for a family of four with two children, it was $30,900 in 2023. The rate is a key indicator of economic well-being and is used to allocate federal funds, design social programs, and measure progress against poverty.

State poverty rates differ widely because of variations in economic structure, educational attainment, cost of living, demographic composition, and state policy choices. States in the South generally have higher poverty rates, while states in the Northeast and Upper Midwest tend to have lower rates. Understanding these differences helps policymakers target resources and identify successful strategies.

The data in this article come from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, the most recent official state-level poverty statistics available. The ACS is an ongoing survey that samples about 3.5 million households annually and provides reliable estimates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Definition

The official poverty measure was developed in the 1960s and is based on pre-tax cash income. A family is considered poor if its total income is less than the poverty threshold for its size and composition. The thresholds are updated annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index. The poverty rate is the share of the population living in such families.

It is important to distinguish the official poverty measure from the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which accounts for government assistance, taxes, and regional cost of living. This article uses the official measure because it is the most widely cited and available for all states over time.

State Comparison

The table below shows the 10 states with the highest and 10 states with the lowest poverty rates in 2023. The full 50-state ranking is provided in the next section.

Regionally, the South dominates the highest-poverty list, with 8 of the top 10 states located there. The Northeast and West are home to most of the lowest-poverty states, reflecting stronger economies, higher educational attainment, and lower unemployment in many of those areas.

Ranking Table

The following table ranks all 50 states by their 2023 poverty rate, from highest to lowest. Figures are rounded to one decimal place.

Year-over-Year Change

Between 2022 and 2023, the national poverty rate declined by 0.4 percentage points, from 11.5% to 11.1%. This improvement was not uniform across states. Some states saw larger decreases, such as Louisiana (down 1.2 points) and Mississippi (down 0.9 points), while others saw little change or even slight increases. The overall trend reflects a continued economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with strong job growth and wage gains in many parts of the country.

However, year-to-year changes can be volatile due to sampling variability and short-term economic shocks. Analysts typically focus on longer-term trends to identify structural changes in poverty.

10-Year Change

Over the past decade, the United States made significant progress in reducing poverty. The national poverty rate fell from 14.5% in 2013 to 11.1% in 2023, a decline of 3.4 percentage points. Nearly every state experienced a decrease, but the magnitude varied. States like Colorado, Utah, and Washington saw declines of more than 5 percentage points, while states such as Alaska and West Virginia had smaller improvements due to economic challenges in energy and manufacturing sectors.

The 10-year trend reflects the long economic expansion from 2010 to 2020, followed by pandemic-related disruptions and a strong recovery. Federal stimulus measures, expanded tax credits, and low unemployment contributed to the decline.

Map

A map of state poverty rates would show a clear geographic pattern: a band of high-poverty states stretching across the South, from Mississippi and Louisiana through Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, and into New Mexico. The Northeast and Upper Midwest would appear as low-poverty regions, with New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Utah among the lowest. The West Coast and Mountain West are mixed, with California and Nevada above the national average but Washington and Colorado below.

This spatial pattern is associated with historical economic development, educational attainment, industrial composition, and state tax and transfer policies.

Methodology

The poverty rates in this article are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, specifically table S1701, “Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months.” The ACS is a nationwide survey that collects data from approximately 3.5 million households each year. Poverty status is determined by comparing a family’s total cash income before taxes to the official poverty threshold, which varies by family size, number of children, and age of householder.

The official poverty thresholds are updated annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). For 2023, the weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four was $30,900.

Why It Matters

Poverty rates are more than just statistics; they influence the allocation of billions of dollars in federal funding for programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Title I education grants. High poverty rates signal economic distress and are associated with poorer health outcomes, lower educational attainment, and higher crime rates. Understanding state-level poverty helps policymakers target interventions and evaluate the effectiveness of anti-poverty programs.

“The official poverty measure does not adjust for geographic differences in housing costs, which can understate poverty in high-cost states and overstate it in low-cost states.” — U.S. Census Bureau

Factors Behind the Trend

Several factors explain the wide variation in state poverty rates:

• Economic structure: States with diverse, high-wage industries (e.g., technology, finance, healthcare) tend to have lower poverty rates, while those dependent on low-wage agriculture, manufacturing, or extraction have higher rates.
• Educational attainment: States with higher percentages of college graduates generally have lower poverty, as education is strongly linked to earnings.
• Cost of living: The official poverty measure does not adjust for regional price differences, so states with high housing costs (e.g., California, New York) may have poverty rates that appear lower than the actual economic hardship.
• State policies: Minimum wage laws, tax credits, and social safety net programs vary by state and can lift families above the poverty line.
• Demographics: States with larger shares of historically disadvantaged groups, such as racial minorities and single-parent families, often have higher poverty rates due to systemic inequalities.

Limitations of the Data

The official poverty measure has well-documented limitations. It is based on pre-tax cash income and excludes non-cash benefits such as SNAP, housing subsidies, and tax credits, which can significantly reduce hardship. It also does not account for regional differences in the cost of living, which can distort comparisons between high-cost and low-cost states. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) addresses some of these issues but is not available for all states in the same historical series. Additionally, ACS estimates are subject to sampling error, especially for smaller states, so small differences between states may not be statistically significant.

Source & Data Date

Primary source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1701: Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months. Data released September 2024. Additional context from the Census Bureau’s report Income and Poverty in the United States: 2023 (P60-283).