Counties in Georgia by poverty rate

Stewart County had the highest poverty rate of 159 counties in 2016, at 39.2%. Forsyth County had the lowest, at 5.7%. The median was 21% and the figure for Georgia was 16.1%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest39.2Stewart County
Median21159 counties
Georgia16.1History

Top 40 counties, 2016

CSVChart (SVG)

Stewart CountyStewart County: 39.2 %39.2Wheeler CountyWheeler County: 39.1 %39.1Clay CountyClay County: 35.2 %35.2Jenkins CountyJenkins County: 34.2 %34.2Hancock CountyHancock County: 33.5 %33.5Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 33 %33Macon CountyMacon County: 32.1 %32.1Early CountyEarly County: 31.4 %31.4Terrell CountyTerrell County: 31.1 %31.1Wilcox CountyWilcox County: 31 %31Telfair CountyTelfair County: 30.8 %30.8Dougherty CountyDougherty County: 30.5 %30.5Randolph CountyRandolph County: 30.5 %30.5Turner CountyTurner County: 30.4 %30.4Crisp CountyCrisp County: 30.3 %30.3Decatur CountyDecatur County: 29.9 %29.9Mitchell CountyMitchell County: 29.9 %29.9Tattnall CountyTattnall County: 29.8 %29.8Johnson CountyJohnson County: 29.4 %29.4Sumter CountySumter County: 28.9 %28.9Taliaferro CountyTaliaferro County: 28.8 %28.8Dooly CountyDooly County: 28.5 %28.5Warren CountyWarren County: 28.2 %28.2Clarke CountyClarke County: 27.9 %27.9Baker CountyBaker County: 27.8 %27.8Screven CountyScreven County: 27.6 %27.6Emanuel CountyEmanuel County: 27.4 %27.4Charlton CountyCharlton County: 27.2 %27.2Quitman CountyQuitman County: 27.1 %27.1Treutlen CountyTreutlen County: 27.1 %27.1Washington CountyWashington County: 26.9 %26.9Burke CountyBurke County: 26.7 %26.7Atkinson CountyAtkinson County: 26.4 %26.4Ben Hill CountyBen Hill County: 26.4 %26.4Bibb CountyBibb County: 26.3 %26.3Baldwin CountyBaldwin County: 26 %26Clinch CountyClinch County: 26 %26Laurens CountyLaurens County: 25.6 %25.6Richmond CountyRichmond County: 25.6 %25.6Ware CountyWare County: 25.5 %25.5
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Stewart County39.2-2.8 pts
2Wheeler County39.1-0.2 pts
3Clay County35.2+0.9 pts
4Jenkins County34.2-1.7 pts
5Hancock County33.5-1.2 pts
6Calhoun County33-4.5 pts
7Macon County32.1-1.4 pts
8Early County31.4+4.9 pts
9Terrell County31.1-5.4 pts
10Wilcox County31+0.6 pts
11Telfair County30.8-3.9 pts
12Dougherty County30.5+1.1 pts
12Randolph County30.5+3.6 pts
14Turner County30.4+2 pts
15Crisp County30.3-2 pts
16Decatur County29.9+2.6 pts
16Mitchell County29.9+1.9 pts
18Tattnall County29.8+2.3 pts
19Johnson County29.4-0.8 pts
20Sumter County28.9-1.9 pts
21Taliaferro County28.8-4.7 pts
22Dooly County28.5-5.3 pts
23Warren County28.2+0.5 pts
24Clarke County27.9-10.2 pts
25Baker County27.8-0.9 pts
26Screven County27.6+0.6 pts
27Emanuel County27.4+0.4 pts
28Charlton County27.2-5.3 pts
29Quitman County27.1-1.8 pts
29Treutlen County27.1-1.6 pts
31Washington County26.9+0.6 pts
32Burke County26.7+1.6 pts
33Atkinson County26.4-0.5 pts
33Ben Hill County26.4-6.1 pts
35Bibb County26.3-0.4 pts
36Baldwin County260 pts
36Clinch County26-2.2 pts
38Laurens County25.6+0.1 pts
38Richmond County25.6+1.3 pts
40Ware County25.5-2.9 pts
41Dodge County25.2+0.4 pts
41Jefferson County25.2-2.5 pts
43Cook County25.1+1 pts
44Candler County25-3.1 pts
44Colquitt County25+0.9 pts
44Pulaski County25+0.6 pts
47Brooks County24.9-0.5 pts
48Taylor County24.7-2.6 pts
49Evans County24.4-3 pts
50Bulloch County24-5.9 pts
51Jeff Davis County23.9+2.2 pts
52Irwin County23.6-1.1 pts
53Talbot County23.5-2.1 pts
53Twiggs County23.5-2.8 pts
55Marion County23.4-2.1 pts
55Seminole County23.4-2.4 pts
55Toombs County23.4-1.7 pts
58Echols County23.2-2.7 pts
59Miller County23.1-2 pts
60Coffee County23+0.4 pts
61Bacon County22.9-1 pts
61Wilkes County22.90 pts
63Lanier County22.8+1 pts
63McDuffie County22.8-4.6 pts
65Montgomery County22.7-1.6 pts
66Spalding County22.4+0.2 pts
67Berrien County22.3-3.2 pts
67Elbert County22.3-1.4 pts
69Wayne County22.2+1.4 pts
70Lowndes County22.1-4.4 pts
70Tift County22.1-5 pts
72Bleckley County21.7+2.4 pts
73Chattahoochee County21.5+0.5 pts
73Muscogee County21.5-0.7 pts
75Franklin County21.4-0.5 pts
75Peach County21.4-0.6 pts
77Meriwether County21.2-0.9 pts
78Thomas County21.1-0.6 pts
78Worth County21.1-0.6 pts
80Grady County21-8.3 pts
81Wilkinson County20.90 pts
82Brantley County20.8-0.8 pts
82Clayton County20.8-2.5 pts
82Stephens County20.8-0.4 pts
82Webster County20.8-2.8 pts
86McIntosh County20.6-3.4 pts
87Troup County20.3+1 pts
88Chattooga County20.1-0.3 pts
89Upson County19.8-2.9 pts
90Appling County19.7-2.8 pts
90Heard County19.7+0.6 pts
92Crawford County19.3-1.3 pts
93Glynn County19.1+0.9 pts
93Lincoln County19.1-2.3 pts
95Long County18.6-0.5 pts
95Polk County18.6-2.2 pts
95Walker County18.6-0.2 pts
98Glascock County18.5+0.7 pts
98Haralson County18.5-0.7 pts
98Schley County18.5-1 pts
101Putnam County18.4+0.3 pts
102Greene County18.2-3 pts
102Lamar County18.2-2.8 pts
104Murray County18.1+0.3 pts
105DeKalb County17.5-0.3 pts
105Newton County17.5+2.6 pts
107Hart County17.3-1.3 pts
107Pierce County17.3-4.8 pts
109Rabun County17.1+1 pts
110Butts County17-2 pts
111Jasper County16.9-0.5 pts
112Chatham County16.6-1.2 pts
113Lumpkin County16.2-0.3 pts
114Gordon County16.1-2 pts
114Whitfield County16.1+0.8 pts
116Fulton County160 pts
117Floyd County15.8-3.8 pts
118Dade County15.6-0.6 pts
118Habersham County15.6-1 pts
120Banks County15.5-0.3 pts
121Oglethorpe County15.4-1.5 pts
121Union County15.4+1.1 pts
123Liberty County15.3-5 pts
124Gilmer County15.2-1.7 pts
125Bartow County15.1+1.5 pts
125Towns County15.1-1.6 pts
127Camden County15+1.4 pts
128Carroll County14.9-5.5 pts
128Houston County14.9-0.3 pts
128Madison County14.9-0.2 pts
131Rockdale County14.7-1.2 pts
132White County14.3-0.9 pts
133Fannin County14.1-3.3 pts
134Hall County13.7-3.2 pts
135Morgan County13.1-1.2 pts
136Barrow County12.9-2.7 pts
136Catoosa County12.9-0.2 pts
136Douglas County12.9-1.2 pts
139Walton County12.8+0.1 pts
140Jackson County12.7-0.3 pts
141Jones County12.3-1.9 pts
142Monroe County12.2-2 pts
143Pike County11.70 pts
144Gwinnett County11.3-1.3 pts
144Pickens County11.3-1.3 pts
146Lee County11.2+0.5 pts
147Effingham County10.3-1.1 pts
148Dawson County10.2-1.9 pts
149Cobb County10-1.4 pts
150Coweta County9.9-1 pts
151Bryan County9.6-3.5 pts
151Henry County9.6-0.3 pts
153Harris County8.7-1.2 pts
154Paulding County8.6-0.2 pts
155Cherokee County7.5-1.9 pts
156Columbia County7.2-2.1 pts
157Oconee County6.80 pts
158Fayette County6-1 pts
159Forsyth County5.7-0.6 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 Georgia by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Georgia","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Georgia&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?

Stewart County, with 39.2% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Forsyth County, with 5.7% 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 Georgia: more rankings