Data / Rankings / Poverty rate (US official measure) / Counties in Florida

Counties in Florida by poverty rate

Hamilton County had the highest poverty rate of 67 counties in 2015, at 31.8%. Sarasota County had the lowest, at 9.7%. The median was 17.3% and the figure for Florida was 15.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest31.8Hamilton County
Lowest9.7Sarasota County
Median17.367 counties
Florida15.8History

Top 40 counties, 2015

CSVChart (SVG)

Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 31.8 %31.8DeSoto CountyDeSoto County: 30.5 %30.5Dixie CountyDixie County: 29.3 %29.3Putnam CountyPutnam County: 27.3 %27.3Madison CountyMadison County: 27 %27Union CountyUnion County: 26.2 %26.2Hardee CountyHardee County: 25.9 %25.9Holmes CountyHolmes County: 25.9 %25.9Hendry CountyHendry County: 25.8 %25.8Washington CountyWashington County: 24.8 %24.8Gadsden CountyGadsden County: 24.5 %24.5Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 23.8 %23.8Franklin CountyFranklin County: 23.7 %23.7Suwannee CountySuwannee County: 23.6 %23.6Okeechobee CountyOkeechobee County: 23.2 %23.2Highlands CountyHighlands County: 22.9 %22.9Liberty CountyLiberty County: 22.6 %22.6Jackson CountyJackson County: 22.5 %22.5Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 22.2 %22.2Glades CountyGlades County: 22.1 %22.1Levy CountyLevy County: 22.1 %22.1Gulf CountyGulf County: 21.9 %21.9Leon CountyLeon County: 21.8 %21.8Bradford CountyBradford County: 21.3 %21.3Taylor CountyTaylor County: 21.2 %21.2Alachua CountyAlachua County: 21.1 %21.1Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County: 20 %20Columbia CountyColumbia County: 19.7 %19.7Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 19.4 %19.4Gilchrist CountyGilchrist County: 19.2 %19.2Marion CountyMarion County: 18.7 %18.7Osceola CountyOsceola County: 18.5 %18.5Citrus CountyCitrus County: 17.5 %17.5Polk CountyPolk County: 17.3 %17.3Baker CountyBaker County: 16.8 %16.8Bay CountyBay County: 16.5 %16.5Wakulla CountyWakulla County: 16.5 %16.5St. Lucie CountySt. Lucie County: 16.4 %16.4Volusia CountyVolusia County: 16.3 %16.3Duval CountyDuval County: 16 %16
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015 (%)
1Hamilton County31.8
2DeSoto County30.5
3Dixie County29.3
4Putnam County27.3
5Madison County27
6Union County26.2
7Hardee County25.9
7Holmes County25.9
9Hendry County25.8
10Washington County24.8
11Gadsden County24.5
12Lafayette County23.8
13Franklin County23.7
14Suwannee County23.6
15Okeechobee County23.2
16Highlands County22.9
17Liberty County22.6
18Jackson County22.5
19Calhoun County22.2
20Glades County22.1
20Levy County22.1
22Gulf County21.9
23Leon County21.8
24Bradford County21.3
25Taylor County21.2
26Alachua County21.1
27Miami-Dade County20
28Columbia County19.7
29Jefferson County19.4
30Gilchrist County19.2
31Marion County18.7
32Osceola County18.5
33Citrus County17.5
34Polk County17.3
35Baker County16.8
36Bay County16.5
36Wakulla County16.5
38St. Lucie County16.4
39Volusia County16.3
40Duval County16
41Lee County15.9
42Hillsborough County15.8
43Orange County15.6
44Escambia County15.4
45Manatee County14.8
45Walton County14.8
47Pasco County14.6
48Hernando County14.3
49Broward County14
50Collier County13.6
50Pinellas County13.6
52Palm Beach County13.5
53Brevard County13.4
54Indian River County13
55Lake County12.8
56Charlotte County12.4
57Santa Rosa County12.3
58Flagler County11.7
59Clay County11.6
60Seminole County11.5
61Monroe County11.3
61Okaloosa County11.3
63Martin County11.2
64Nassau County10.8
65Sumter County10.1
66St. Johns County9.8
67Sarasota County9.7

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.

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Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Hamilton County, with 31.8% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Sarasota County, with 9.7% 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 Florida: more rankings