Poorest Counties
Pierce County, ND has the highest Median Income ($59,365), followed by Goliad County, TX ($59,359) and Tallapoosa County, AL ($59,356). Owsley County, KY has the lowest ($22,188).
Median Income
Darker green is better (higher is better). Click a place to highlight it.
Ranking
Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 1,000 counties.
Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →
How many counties fall in each range; the lines mark the median and the middle half.
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
Showing the first 300 of 1,000 counties, ranked by Median Income.
What correlates with Median Income?
Pearson r against 33 other county metrics sharing at least 600 counties, 1 near-identical series hidden. Correlation is not causation.
Higher together
Places that have a higher Median Income tend to score higher on these
- Plot
- Median Home Value ($2,000,001 Means $2M or More)Housing, Income and Commutes by County (Census)Plotr = +0.45 · moderate · n = 999
- Homes with Broadband Internet (%)Housing, Income and Commutes by County (Census)Plotr = +0.45 · moderate · n = 1,000
- Population Growth Since 2020Plotr = +0.38 · moderate · n = 1,000
- Bachelor’s Degree or Higher (% of Adults 25+)Housing, Income and Commutes by County (Census)Plotr = +0.37 · moderate · n = 1,000
- Median Rent (Monthly; $3,501 Means $3,500 or More)Housing, Income and Commutes by County (Census)Plotr = +0.37 · moderate · n = 999
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher Median Income tend to score lower on these
- Plot
- Adults in Fair or Poor Health (%)Health of Adults by County (CDC PLACES)Plotr = −0.65 · strong · n = 930
- Plot
- Adults with No Leisure-Time Exercise (%)Health of Adults by County (CDC PLACES)Plotr = −0.60 · strong · n = 930
- Plot
- Adults Sleeping Under 7 Hours (%)Health of Adults by County (CDC PLACES)Plotr = −0.45 · moderate · n = 1,000
Quick answers
- Which county has the highest Median Income?
- Pierce County, ND has the highest Median Income, at $59,365, followed by Goliad County, TX ($59,359) and Tallapoosa County, AL ($59,356).
- Which county has the lowest Median Income?
- Owsley County, KY has the lowest Median Income, at $22,188.
- What is the median Median Income across US counties?
- The median is $52,344 across the 1,000 US counties with data.
- Where does this poorest counties data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: S1901: Income in the Past 12 Months. Last updated 2026-10-28.