Counties in Illinois by poverty rate

Jackson County had the highest poverty rate of 102 counties in 2019, at 25.4%. Kendall County had the lowest, at 4%. The median was 12.5% and the figure for Illinois was 11.4%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest25.4Jackson County
Median12.5102 counties
Illinois11.4History

Top 40 counties, 2019

CSVChart (SVG)

Jackson CountyJackson County: 25.4 %25.4Alexander CountyAlexander County: 24 %24McDonough CountyMcDonough County: 23.3 %23.3Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 22 %22Champaign CountyChampaign County: 19.9 %19.9Gallatin CountyGallatin County: 19 %19Knox CountyKnox County: 18.6 %18.6Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 18.4 %18.4Hardin CountyHardin County: 18 %18Union CountyUnion County: 17.2 %17.2Pope CountyPope County: 16.9 %16.9Coles CountyColes County: 16.8 %16.8Vermilion CountyVermilion County: 16.8 %16.8Macon CountyMacon County: 16.7 %16.7Franklin CountyFranklin County: 16.4 %16.4Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 16.1 %16.1Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 16 %16Massac CountyMassac County: 15.9 %15.9Saline CountySaline County: 15.7 %15.7Fayette CountyFayette County: 15.1 %15.1Marion CountyMarion County: 15 %15Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 14.9 %14.9Brown CountyBrown County: 14.8 %14.8Peoria CountyPeoria County: 14.8 %14.8White CountyWhite County: 14.5 %14.5Perry CountyPerry County: 14.4 %14.4Pike CountyPike County: 14.4 %14.4McLean CountyMcLean County: 14.3 %14.3Clay CountyClay County: 13.8 %13.8Morgan CountyMorgan County: 13.8 %13.8Greene CountyGreene County: 13.7 %13.7Rock Island CountyRock Island County: 13.6 %13.6Macoupin CountyMacoupin County: 13.5 %13.5Wabash CountyWabash County: 13.5 %13.5Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 13.4 %13.4Fulton CountyFulton County: 13.3 %13.3St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 13.3 %13.3Edgar CountyEdgar County: 13.2 %13.2Richland CountyRichland County: 13.1 %13.1Wayne CountyWayne County: 13.1 %13.1
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Jackson County25.4-0.3 pts
2Alexander County24-3.6 pts
3McDonough County23.3+1.4 pts
4Pulaski County22+2.3 pts
5Champaign County19.9+0.7 pts
6Gallatin County19-1.5 pts
7Knox County18.6+2.2 pts
8Lawrence County18.4+0.9 pts
9Hardin County18-2 pts
10Union County17.2-0.2 pts
11Pope County16.9-1.7 pts
12Coles County16.8-3.2 pts
12Vermilion County16.8-2.5 pts
14Macon County16.7-0.7 pts
15Franklin County16.4-3 pts
16Winnebago County16.10 pts
17Montgomery County16+1.6 pts
18Massac County15.9-1.3 pts
19Saline County15.7-4.6 pts
20Fayette County15.1+0.2 pts
21Marion County15-4.5 pts
22Jefferson County14.9-1.4 pts
23Brown County14.80 pts
23Peoria County14.8-1.8 pts
25White County14.5+2.2 pts
26Perry County14.4-3.4 pts
26Pike County14.4+0.3 pts
28McLean County14.3-0.1 pts
29Clay County13.8-0.5 pts
29Morgan County13.8-1.4 pts
31Greene County13.7-0.2 pts
32Rock Island County13.6-0.6 pts
33Macoupin County13.5+0.6 pts
33Wabash County13.5-0.9 pts
35Williamson County13.4-1 pts
36Fulton County13.3-0.9 pts
36St. Clair County13.3-1.5 pts
38Edgar County13.2-0.3 pts
39Richland County13.1-1.9 pts
39Wayne County13.1-0.7 pts
41Bond County13-0.8 pts
41Cass County13+1 pts
41Cook County13-0.8 pts
41DeKalb County13-0.1 pts
41Livingston County13+0.4 pts
46Johnson County12.9+0.7 pts
47Logan County12.8+1.9 pts
48Hamilton County12.7+0.4 pts
48Kankakee County12.7-3.5 pts
48Randolph County12.7-1.1 pts
51Crawford County12.6+0.8 pts
52Adams County12.30 pts
52Christian County12.3-0.2 pts
52Hancock County12.3+1.2 pts
55LaSalle County12.2-1.4 pts
55Sangamon County12.2-0.9 pts
57Mason County12.1-2.5 pts
58Lee County12+1.9 pts
59Edwards County11.8+0.7 pts
60Iroquois County11.6+1.7 pts
61Stephenson County11.5-1.2 pts
62Warren County11.4-1.5 pts
62Whiteside County11.4+0.9 pts
64Schuyler County11.3-0.1 pts
65Bureau County11.2-0.4 pts
65Scott County11.2+0.9 pts
65Stark County11.20 pts
68Carroll County11.1-0.3 pts
69De Witt County110 pts
69Henderson County11-0.3 pts
71Madison County10.9-2.9 pts
72Clark County10.8-0.3 pts
73Jersey County10.4+1.5 pts
74Cumberland County10.1-1.6 pts
75Ford County10+0.3 pts
76Jasper County9.9-0.3 pts
77Calhoun County9.7-1.3 pts
78Ogle County9.4+1 pts
78Shelby County9.4-0.8 pts
80Jo Daviess County9.3+1.5 pts
81Effingham County9.2-0.5 pts
82Marshall County9-0.5 pts
83Boone County8.9-0.3 pts
84Henry County8.7-2.8 pts
85Moultrie County8.6-1 pts
86Kane County8.2-0.4 pts
86Menard County8.2-0.8 pts
86Tazewell County8.2-1.4 pts
89Mercer County8.1-0.9 pts
89Washington County8.1+0.7 pts
91Douglas County8-1.2 pts
92Putnam County7.6-0.9 pts
93Clinton County7.5-0.7 pts
94Lake County7.2-0.8 pts
95Piatt County6.5-0.8 pts
95Will County6.5+0.1 pts
97Woodford County6.1-1 pts
98DuPage County6-0.6 pts
99Grundy County5.6-0.3 pts
100McHenry County5.4-0.5 pts
101Monroe County4.2-0.1 pts
102Kendall County4-0.2 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/2019/2019-state-and-county/est19all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

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Rank Counties in Illinois by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Jackson County, with 25.4% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Kendall County, with 4% in 2019.

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 Illinois: more rankings