Counties in Kansas by poverty rate

Riley County had the highest poverty rate of 105 counties in 2020, at 19.2%. Johnson County had the lowest, at 4.6%. The median was 10.6% and the figure for Kansas was 10.6%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest19.2Riley County
Median10.6105 counties
Kansas10.6History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Riley CountyRiley County: 19.2 %19.2Chautauqua CountyChautauqua County: 18.3 %18.3Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 17.8 %17.8Wyandotte CountyWyandotte County: 16.9 %16.9Crawford CountyCrawford County: 16.6 %16.6Ellis CountyEllis County: 16 %16Elk CountyElk County: 15.1 %15.1Pawnee CountyPawnee County: 14.9 %14.9Allen CountyAllen County: 14.5 %14.5Bourbon CountyBourbon County: 14.5 %14.5Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 14.3 %14.3Wilson CountyWilson County: 14.3 %14.3Cowley CountyCowley County: 14 %14Labette CountyLabette County: 14 %14Woodson CountyWoodson County: 14 %14Neosho CountyNeosho County: 13.8 %13.8Sedgwick CountySedgwick County: 13.4 %13.4Harper CountyHarper County: 13.2 %13.2Atchison CountyAtchison County: 13.1 %13.1Brown CountyBrown County: 13 %13Jewell CountyJewell County: 13 %13Sherman CountySherman County: 13 %13Doniphan CountyDoniphan County: 12.9 %12.9Norton CountyNorton County: 12.9 %12.9Russell CountyRussell County: 12.9 %12.9Anderson CountyAnderson County: 12.7 %12.7Barton CountyBarton County: 12.7 %12.7Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 12.7 %12.7Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 12.7 %12.7Lyon CountyLyon County: 12.6 %12.6Geary CountyGeary County: 12.5 %12.5Graham CountyGraham County: 12.5 %12.5Linn CountyLinn County: 12.5 %12.5Wallace CountyWallace County: 12.5 %12.5Decatur CountyDecatur County: 12.4 %12.4Kiowa CountyKiowa County: 12.3 %12.3Finney CountyFinney County: 12.2 %12.2Cloud CountyCloud County: 12.1 %12.1Morton CountyMorton County: 12.1 %12.1Barber CountyBarber County: 12 %12
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020 (%)Change on 2019
1Riley County19.2-1.7 pts
2Chautauqua County18.3+1.9 pts
3Montgomery County17.8+2.1 pts
4Wyandotte County16.9-3.7 pts
5Crawford County16.6-1.9 pts
6Ellis County16+2.9 pts
7Elk County15.1-4.3 pts
8Pawnee County14.9+0.9 pts
9Allen County14.5-2.8 pts
9Bourbon County14.5-1.1 pts
11Cherokee County14.3-1.1 pts
11Wilson County14.3+1 pts
13Cowley County14+0.5 pts
13Labette County14-1.8 pts
13Woodson County14-0.3 pts
16Neosho County13.8-1.9 pts
17Sedgwick County13.4+0.8 pts
18Harper County13.2-1 pts
19Atchison County13.1-0.7 pts
20Brown County13-2.4 pts
20Jewell County130 pts
20Sherman County13+0.5 pts
23Doniphan County12.9+1.5 pts
23Norton County12.9+1.3 pts
23Russell County12.9-1.5 pts
26Anderson County12.70 pts
26Barton County12.7-0.7 pts
26Greenwood County12.7-2.2 pts
26Lincoln County12.7+0.6 pts
30Lyon County12.6-2.5 pts
31Geary County12.5+0.8 pts
31Graham County12.5+0.7 pts
31Linn County12.5+0.5 pts
31Wallace County12.5+0.4 pts
35Decatur County12.4-0.8 pts
36Kiowa County12.3+0.2 pts
37Finney County12.2-0.8 pts
38Cloud County12.1-1.4 pts
38Morton County12.1+0.4 pts
40Barber County12-1.6 pts
41Cheyenne County11.8+0.2 pts
41Douglas County11.8-3.3 pts
43Osborne County11.7-1.8 pts
44Seward County11.5-2.7 pts
45Sumner County11.3-0.1 pts
46Comanche County11.2-0.4 pts
46Rush County11.2-1 pts
48Rawlins County11.1-3.1 pts
49Clark County11-1.4 pts
49Stafford County11-2.7 pts
51Phillips County10.9-0.1 pts
52Edwards County10.8-0.9 pts
53Ellsworth County10.6+1 pts
53Reno County10.6-2.8 pts
53Wichita County10.6-0.4 pts
56Morris County10.50 pts
56Shawnee County10.5+0.7 pts
56Sheridan County10.5-1.3 pts
59Hamilton County10.4-2.7 pts
59Trego County10.4-0.4 pts
61Ford County10.3-3.5 pts
61Rice County10.3-1.5 pts
61Smith County10.3-1.3 pts
64Haskell County10.2+0.5 pts
64Stanton County10.2-0.4 pts
66Chase County10.1-1.3 pts
66Gove County10.1+0.5 pts
66Grant County10.1-0.4 pts
66Marion County10.1-0.6 pts
66Osage County10.1-4.1 pts
71Greeley County10-0.9 pts
71Mitchell County10-1.1 pts
71Ottawa County10+0.1 pts
74Republic County9.9-2.3 pts
74Washington County9.9+0.4 pts
76Clay County9.8-0.2 pts
76Dickinson County9.80 pts
76Kingman County9.8-1.5 pts
76Saline County9.8-2.5 pts
80Stevens County9.70 pts
81Coffey County9.6-1.6 pts
81Lane County9.6-0.7 pts
81Ness County9.6-1 pts
81Pratt County9.6-1.6 pts
81Rooks County9.6-0.9 pts
86Kearny County9.4-1 pts
87Harvey County9.30 pts
87Jackson County9.3-1.6 pts
87Meade County9.3-0.4 pts
90Hodgeman County9.1-1.3 pts
90Logan County9.1-0.9 pts
90Thomas County9.10 pts
93Franklin County8.9-1.5 pts
94Butler County8.7+0.2 pts
94Marshall County8.7-0.7 pts
96Leavenworth County8.5+0.2 pts
96Wabaunsee County8.5+1.6 pts
98Nemaha County8.3-0.5 pts
99McPherson County7.7+0.5 pts
100Miami County7.6+0.8 pts
101Scott County7.3-0.6 pts
102Jefferson County7.2-0.6 pts
103Gray County7-0.6 pts
104Pottawatomie County6.9-0.3 pts
105Johnson County4.6-0.7 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/2020/2020-state-and-county/est20all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Riley County, with 19.2% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Johnson County, with 4.6% in 2020.

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 Kansas: more rankings