RANKING · 1990 CENSUS · 95 SHOWN OF 95

Most residents in poverty, Tennessee counties · 1990

Tennessee counties with the most residents living below the poverty line, as of the 1990 American Community Survey. Ranked by number of people, not the poverty rate. This list covers the 95 counties in Tennessee that qualify, ranked against each other statewide. The median across all 95 is 4,739.

TennesseeAll states All rankings

SAME RANKING BYCities States Metros

RELATEDHighest median household income Lowest median household income Highest per-capita income Lowest poverty rate Highest poverty rate Most six-figure households

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPRESIDENTS IN POVERTYVS –

01Shelby County, TNTN910,226151,459–

02Davidson County, TNTN745,90466,261–

03Knox County, TNTN511,45347,287–

04Hamilton County, TNTN390,83337,475–

05Sullivan County, TNTN163,75919,515–

06Washington County, TNTN141,19914,343–

07Madison County, TNTN100,79013,269–

08Montgomery County, TNTN249,93512,890–

09Rutherford County, TNTN386,35212,855–

10Blount County, TNTN143,82010,624–

11Bradley County, TNTN115,46510,174–

12Anderson County, TNTN82,0669,766–

13Greene County, TNTN73,8319,451–

14Sumner County, TNTN215,5389,439–

15Campbell County, TNTN40,2909,418–

16Carter County, TNTN57,3619,266–

17Putnam County, TNTN86,6128,518–

18Hawkins County, TNTN59,5597,974–

19Roane County, TNTN57,3957,558–

20Tipton County, TNTN62,2877,520–

21Gibson County, TNTN51,7797,497–

22Cocke County, TNTN37,8897,362–

23McMinn County, TNTN57,4047,289–

24Maury County, TNTN118,1317,250–

25Hamblen County, TNTN68,8437,040–

26Sevier County, TNTN101,3426,714–

27Claiborne County, TNTN33,2296,707–

28Cumberland County, TNTN66,3006,290–

29Fayette County, TNTN45,0716,161–

30Coffee County, TNTN62,4196,145–

31Dyer County, TNTN36,3206,137–

32Wilson County, TNTN175,0335,915–

33Warren County, TNTN43,7175,556–

34Hardeman County, TNTN25,2745,449–

35Monroe County, TNTN49,7305,426–

36Lawrence County, TNTN46,9145,412–

37Dickson County, TNTN58,6625,383–

38Haywood County, TNTN17,0425,336–

39Henry County, TNTN32,8965,276–

40Lauderdale County, TNTN24,6175,270–

41Scott County, TNTN22,6715,105–

42Franklin County, TNTN45,5794,995–

43Jefferson County, TNTN60,0244,984–

44Weakley County, TNTN33,2614,948–

45Bedford County, TNTN55,2734,862–

46Obion County, TNTN30,0674,811–

47Marion County, TNTN29,8044,808–

48Fentress County, TNTN20,3224,739–

49Williamson County, TNTN272,0614,669–

50Rhea County, TNTN34,8444,614–

51Hardin County, TNTN27,9834,558–

52McNairy County, TNTN26,2364,542–

53Robertson County, TNTN80,1754,383–

54Carroll County, TNTN29,2004,374–

55Loudon County, TNTN63,7644,244–

56Giles County, TNTN31,4334,229–

57Lincoln County, TNTN36,8533,987–

58Johnson County, TNTN18,7183,928–

59Grainger County, TNTN25,7393,510–

60Morgan County, TNTN22,1603,489–

61Henderson County, TNTN28,5183,442–

62White County, TNTN29,6123,407–

63Grundy County, TNTN14,1163,197–

64Overton County, TNTN23,7873,159–

65Macon County, TNTN27,6633,062–

66Hickman County, TNTN26,2193,028–

67Cheatham County, TNTN42,7782,939–

68Union County, TNTN21,4502,922–

69DeKalb County, TNTN21,8732,919–

70Unicoi County, TNTN17,8562,825–

71Marshall County, TNTN38,0712,819–

72Hancock County, TNTN7,0752,699–

73Wayne County, TNTN16,4162,611–

74Benton County, TNTN16,1832,504–

75Polk County, TNTN18,5922,494–

76Chester County, TNTN17,9942,420–

77Crockett County, TNTN14,0062,355–

78Humphreys County, TNTN19,6462,274–

79Decatur County, TNTN11,8202,084–

80Smith County, TNTN20,9812,053–

81Sequatchie County, TNTN17,8612,034–

82Lake County, TNTN6,2491,958–

83Lewis County, TNTN13,4871,940–

84Jackson County, TNTN12,4661,863–

85Bledsoe County, TNTN15,9201,852–

86Meigs County, TNTN14,1861,789–

87Clay County, TNTN7,8211,665–

88Stewart County, TNTN14,4391,570–

89Cannon County, TNTN15,2961,515–

90Houston County, TNTN8,4791,313–

91Perry County, TNTN9,1261,230–

92Pickett County, TNTN5,2191,131–

93Trousdale County, TNTN12,6231,047–

94Van Buren County, TNTN6,874932–

95Moore County, TNTN6,920307–

SHOWING 1–95 OF 95

Download CSV (full list, 95 rows)

UPDATED 2026-09-11 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS