RANKING · 2010 CENSUS · 51 SHOWN OF 51

Most residents in poverty, US states · 2010

US states with the most residents living below the poverty line, as of the 2010 American Community Survey. Ranked by number of people, not the poverty rate. California leads at 5,108,767. 51 states qualify in total. The top 25 average 1,436,107, against an all-states median of 608,370.

All statesAll rankings

SAME RANKING BYCities Counties Metros

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPRESIDENTS IN POVERTYVS 2000

USUnited States13.8% of US population308,745,53842,682,708–

01California, CACA39,287,3775,108,767+6%

02Texas, TXTX30,188,4244,212,961+31%

03New York, NYNY19,852,3662,744,782−1%

04Florida, FLFL22,416,0772,598,311+30%

05Ohio, OHOH11,810,2931,634,004+36%

06Illinois, ILIL12,694,7981,621,415+22%

07Pennsylvania, PAPA13,018,6391,572,091+17%

08Georgia, GAGA10,940,4071,521,592+43%

09North Carolina, NCNC10,730,4041,481,027+50%

10Michigan, MIMI10,077,7611,467,290+40%

11Tennessee, TNTN7,066,3831,047,192+37%

12Arizona, AZAZ7,378,838976,134+37%

13Indiana, ININ6,851,073878,302+52%

14Missouri, MOMO6,191,814836,733+27%

15Virginia, VAVA8,705,170823,254+21%

16Louisiana, LALA4,611,961822,238−6%

17Alabama, ALAL5,086,768817,839+14%

18Washington, WAWA7,816,116815,710+30%

19New Jersey, NJNJ9,343,809800,511+12%

20Kentucky, KYKY4,534,824768,046+20%

21South Carolina, SCSC5,296,225758,556+34%

22Massachusetts, MAMA7,044,056689,362+16%

23Wisconsin, WIWI5,914,872660,893+42%

24Mississippi, MSMS2,946,779630,167+11%

25Colorado, COCO5,862,189615,502+55%

26Oklahoma, OKOK4,028,634608,370+20%

27Minnesota, MNMN5,739,445561,706+44%

28Oregon, OROR4,254,293536,191+35%

29Arkansas, ARAR3,049,391525,222+24%

30Maryland, MDMD6,206,011495,300+10%

31New Mexico, NMNM2,120,246377,987+13%

32Kansas, KSKS2,947,197354,698+33%

33Iowa, IAIA3,210,507353,354+32%

34Connecticut, CTCT3,624,508327,043+22%

35West Virginia, WVWV1,778,373321,585−1%

36Nevada, NVNV3,184,612320,977+53%

37Utah, UTUT3,392,331299,858+43%

38Nebraska, NENE1,978,707215,877+30%

39Idaho, IDID1,934,262212,816+40%

40Maine, MEME1,387,817166,929+20%

41Montana, MTMT1,116,875143,928+9%

42Hawaii, HIHI1,445,235130,517+1%

43Rhode Island, RIRI1,101,801128,086+2%

44South Dakota, SDSD907,428111,731+12%

45District of Columbia, DCDC681,294111,069−4%

46New Hampshire, NHNH1,394,868102,848+27%

47Delaware, DEDE1,021,19198,454+36%

48North Dakota, NDND784,84182,910+9%

49Vermont, VTVT647,10669,575+21%

50Alaska, AKAK735,70667,618+15%

51Wyoming, WYWY582,39755,380−2%

SHOWING 1–51 OF 51

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UPDATED 2026-07-15 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS

Frequently asked

Which state has the highest residents in poverty?

California ranks #1 with 5,108,767 (2010 Decennial Census).

What are the top 5 states by residents in poverty?

California, Texas, New York, Florida, Ohio.

How many states are in this ranking?

51 states qualify after filtering for population minimums and data availability. The ranking covers 2010 Decennial Census data.

How is residents in poverty measured?

Estimated number of residents living below the federal poverty line, from the poverty rate applied to total population. Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 Decennial Census.