Counties in Alabama by poverty rate

Perry County had the highest poverty rate of 67 counties in 2015, at 40%. Shelby County had the lowest, at 8.5%. The median was 20.4% and the figure for Alabama was 18.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest40Perry County
Lowest8.5Shelby County
Median20.467 counties
Alabama18.5History

Top 40 counties, 2015

CSVChart (SVG)

Perry CountyPerry County: 40 %40Bullock CountyBullock County: 39.6 %39.6Greene CountyGreene County: 37.7 %37.7Lowndes CountyLowndes County: 35.2 %35.2Dallas CountyDallas County: 34.6 %34.6Sumter CountySumter County: 33.2 %33.2Wilcox CountyWilcox County: 33.2 %33.2Macon CountyMacon County: 32.2 %32.2Barbour CountyBarbour County: 32 %32Monroe CountyMonroe County: 28.6 %28.6Hale CountyHale County: 28.5 %28.5Conecuh CountyConecuh County: 28.3 %28.3Pike CountyPike County: 25.9 %25.9Butler CountyButler County: 25.8 %25.8Lamar CountyLamar County: 24.7 %24.7Choctaw CountyChoctaw County: 24.4 %24.4Escambia CountyEscambia County: 24.4 %24.4Pickens CountyPickens County: 24.3 %24.3Marengo CountyMarengo County: 23.3 %23.3Russell CountyRussell County: 23 %23Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 22.8 %22.8Chambers CountyChambers County: 22.4 %22.4Geneva CountyGeneva County: 22.4 %22.4Talladega CountyTalladega County: 22.4 %22.4Washington CountyWashington County: 22.4 %22.4Covington CountyCovington County: 22.3 %22.3Bibb CountyBibb County: 22.2 %22.2Clarke CountyClarke County: 22.2 %22.2Tallapoosa CountyTallapoosa County: 21.7 %21.7Franklin CountyFranklin County: 21.1 %21.1Lee CountyLee County: 21 %21DeKalb CountyDeKalb County: 20.6 %20.6Walker CountyWalker County: 20.6 %20.6Fayette CountyFayette County: 20.4 %20.4Coosa CountyCoosa County: 20.3 %20.3Chilton CountyChilton County: 20.2 %20.2Marshall CountyMarshall County: 20.1 %20.1Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 20 %20Tuscaloosa CountyTuscaloosa County: 20 %20Crenshaw CountyCrenshaw County: 19.9 %19.9
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in families or alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), all ages.

Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2015/2015-state-and-county/est15all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Alabama by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Alabama","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Alabama&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Perry County, with 40% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Shelby County, with 8.5% in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Poverty rate (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in Alabama: more rankings