The Poorest County in Each State and the Richest State by Median Household Income

The Poorest County in Each State

January 7, 2015 

24/7WallSt - In each state, there was at least one county with a median annual household income more than $7,000 lower than the state’s median income. Virginia and Maryland had counties with median incomes over $35,000 lower than that of the state. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the poorest county in each state based on data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

The population of 24 of these poorest counties was predominantly rural. Eight had 100% rural populations. However, in some states, the poorest counties were largely urban. For example, the poorest counties in New York and Pennsylvania had 100% urban populations as of 2010.

Click here to see the poorest county in each state (a typical family in the U.S. earns $53,046 per year)

In many of these counties, residents struggled with low educational attainment and limited job opportunities. In the five years through 2013, the percentage of adults who had attained at least a bachelor’s degree was below the comparable national figure of 28.8% in 45 of the 50 counties. There were exceptions. In Washington and Wyoming’s poorest counties, nearly half of the adult residents had attained at least a bachelor’s degree.

While some of the counties had decent job markets, the unemployment rate of 36 of the poorest counties was above the national rate of 7.4% in 2013. Notably, nearly one in five workers in Apache County, Ariz., was unemployed.

To identify the poorest counties in each state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed five-year estimated median annual household incomes from 2009 through 2013 from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Five-year estimated educational attainment rates also came from the Census Bureau. Annual unemployment rates are for 2013 and came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures on the percentage of populations that are classified as urban or rural are from the Census Bureau’s 2010 decennial census.

Median Household Income by State

24/7 Wall St. reviewed five-year estimated median annual household incomes from 2009 through 2013 from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Maryland ranked the highest,

with a median household income of $73,538: with half the workforce working directly or indirectly for government, it is no coincidence that Washington DC and its surrounding counties are among the wealthiest in the U.S. If you drive through Northern Virginia, you will find nearly entire neighborhoods of $500,000 to $900,000 homes owned by government workers or contractors. Then you can drive five streets over and find $200,000 to $400,000 homes owned by those who pay the salaries for those government employees. It’s a fascinating distribution of wealth.

States with a high concentration of population within commuting distance of New York City, home to Wall Street and high finance, also had high median incomes compared to other states, although the state of New York itself had a median household income less than $60,000.

The median household income for most states ranges from $40,000 to $50,000, with the lowest being Mississippi at $39,031 and Arkansas at $40,768.

State Median Household Income 2009 - 2013:

Alabama: $43,253
Alaska : $70,760
Arizona: $49,774
Arkansas: $40,768
California: $61,094
Colorado: $58,433
Connecticut: $69,461
Delaware: $59,878
District of Columbia: $66,583
Florida: $46,956
Georgia: $49,179
Hawaii: $51,250
Idaho: $46,767
Illinois: $56,797
Indiana: $48,248
Iowa: $51,843
Kansas: $51,332
Kentucky: $43,036
Louisiana: $44,874
Maine: $48,453
Maryland: $73,538
Massachusetts: $66,866
Michigan: $48,411
Minnesota: $59,836
Mississippi: $39,031
Missouri: $47,380
Montana: $46,230
Nebraska: $51,672
Nevada: $52,800
New Hampshire: $64,916
New Jersey: $71,629
New Mexico: $44,927
New York: $58,003
North Carolina: $46,334
North Dakota: $53,741
Ohio: $48,308
Oklahoma: $45,339
Oregon: $50,229
Pennsylvania: $52,548
Rhode Island: $56,361
South Carolina: $44,779
South Dakota: $49,495
Tennessee: $44,298
Texas: $51,900
Utah: $58,821
Vermont: $54,267
Virginia: $63,907
Washington: $59,478
West Virginia: $41,043
Wisconsin: $52,413
Wyoming: $57,406