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

Counties in Florida by poverty rate

Madison County had the highest poverty rate of 67 counties in 2016, at 31.9%. St. Johns County had the lowest, at 7.7%. The median was 16.6% and the figure for Florida was 14.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest31.9Madison County
Lowest7.7St. Johns County
Median16.667 counties
Florida14.8History

Top 40 counties, 2016

CSVChart (SVG)

Madison CountyMadison County: 31.9 %31.9Hamilton CountyHamilton County: 28.9 %28.9DeSoto CountyDeSoto County: 28.6 %28.6Dixie CountyDixie County: 25.4 %25.4Hendry CountyHendry County: 25.1 %25.1Union CountyUnion County: 24.7 %24.7Holmes CountyHolmes County: 24.2 %24.2Hardee CountyHardee County: 23.8 %23.8Liberty CountyLiberty County: 23.6 %23.6Gulf CountyGulf County: 23.5 %23.5Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 23.3 %23.3Franklin CountyFranklin County: 23.1 %23.1Washington CountyWashington County: 22.8 %22.8Jackson CountyJackson County: 22.6 %22.6Taylor CountyTaylor County: 22.5 %22.5Alachua CountyAlachua County: 22.3 %22.3Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 21.9 %21.9Glades CountyGlades County: 21.5 %21.5Putnam CountyPutnam County: 21.5 %21.5Levy CountyLevy County: 21.4 %21.4Gadsden CountyGadsden County: 20.6 %20.6Suwannee CountySuwannee County: 20.4 %20.4Okeechobee CountyOkeechobee County: 20.2 %20.2Highlands CountyHighlands County: 19.1 %19.1Leon CountyLeon County: 19 %19Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 18.9 %18.9Bradford CountyBradford County: 18.6 %18.6Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County: 18.2 %18.2Columbia CountyColumbia County: 17.8 %17.8Marion CountyMarion County: 17.4 %17.4Gilchrist CountyGilchrist County: 17.3 %17.3Baker CountyBaker County: 17.2 %17.2St. Lucie CountySt. Lucie County: 17 %17Citrus CountyCitrus County: 16.6 %16.6Polk CountyPolk County: 16.4 %16.4Orange CountyOrange County: 16.3 %16.3Hernando CountyHernando County: 15.4 %15.4Escambia CountyEscambia County: 15.2 %15.2Hillsborough CountyHillsborough County: 15 %15Bay CountyBay County: 14.9 %14.9
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Madison County31.9+4.9 pts
2Hamilton County28.9-2.9 pts
3DeSoto County28.6-1.9 pts
4Dixie County25.4-3.9 pts
5Hendry County25.1-0.7 pts
6Union County24.7-1.5 pts
7Holmes County24.2-1.7 pts
8Hardee County23.8-2.1 pts
9Liberty County23.6+1 pts
10Gulf County23.5+1.6 pts
11Lafayette County23.3-0.5 pts
12Franklin County23.1-0.6 pts
13Washington County22.8-2 pts
14Jackson County22.6+0.1 pts
15Taylor County22.5+1.3 pts
16Alachua County22.3+1.2 pts
17Calhoun County21.9-0.3 pts
18Glades County21.5-0.6 pts
18Putnam County21.5-5.8 pts
20Levy County21.4-0.7 pts
21Gadsden County20.6-3.9 pts
22Suwannee County20.4-3.2 pts
23Okeechobee County20.2-3 pts
24Highlands County19.1-3.8 pts
25Leon County19-2.8 pts
26Jefferson County18.9-0.5 pts
27Bradford County18.6-2.7 pts
28Miami-Dade County18.2-1.8 pts
29Columbia County17.8-1.9 pts
30Marion County17.4-1.3 pts
31Gilchrist County17.3-1.9 pts
32Baker County17.2+0.4 pts
33St. Lucie County17+0.6 pts
34Citrus County16.6-0.9 pts
35Polk County16.4-0.9 pts
36Orange County16.3+0.7 pts
37Hernando County15.4+1.1 pts
38Escambia County15.2-0.2 pts
39Hillsborough County15-0.8 pts
40Bay County14.9-1.6 pts
41Osceola County14.8-3.7 pts
42Brevard County14.7+1.3 pts
43Duval County14.5-1.5 pts
44Volusia County14.2-2.1 pts
45Broward County13.5-0.5 pts
46Pasco County13.3-1.3 pts
46Pinellas County13.3-0.3 pts
48Wakulla County13.1-3.4 pts
48Walton County13.1-1.7 pts
50Lee County12.8-3.1 pts
51Manatee County12.7-2.1 pts
52Charlotte County12.6+0.2 pts
52Palm Beach County12.6-0.9 pts
54Indian River County12.3-0.7 pts
55Lake County11.8-1 pts
56Monroe County11.5+0.2 pts
57Collier County11.4-2.2 pts
57Seminole County11.4-0.1 pts
59Martin County11.3+0.1 pts
60Flagler County11.2-0.5 pts
61Sarasota County10.8+1.1 pts
62Okaloosa County10.7-0.6 pts
63Santa Rosa County10.6-1.7 pts
64Sumter County10.5+0.4 pts
65Nassau County10.3-0.5 pts
66Clay County9.6-2 pts
67St. Johns County7.7-2.1 pts

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/2016/2016-state-and-county/est16all.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 Florida by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Florida","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Florida&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?

Madison County, with 31.9% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

St. Johns County, with 7.7% in 2016.

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