Counties in California by poverty rate
Merced County had the highest poverty rate of 58 counties in 2021, at 21.9%. Placer County had the lowest, at 6.6%. The median was 13.2% and the figure for California was 12.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
All counties, 2021
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/2021/2021-state-and-county/est21all.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 California by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"California","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=California&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest poverty rate?
Merced County, with 21.9% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest poverty rate?
Placer County, with 6.6% in 2021.
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
- US states
- US counties
- Counties in Texas
- Counties in Georgia
- Counties in Virginia
- Counties in Kentucky
- Counties in Missouri
- Counties in Kansas
- Counties in Illinois
- Counties in North Carolina
- Counties in Iowa
- Counties in Tennessee
Counties in California: more rankings
- Asian population share
- Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over
- Live births, July to June
- Black or African American population share
- Crude birth rate, July to June
- Crude death rate, July to June
- Deaths, July to June
- Foreign-born population share
- Real GDP growth
- GDP per capita, US dollars
- Gross domestic product (GDP), US dollars
- Hispanic or Latino population share
- Homeownership rate (US, housing units)
- Median age
- Median gross rent (monthly)
- Median home value