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

Counties in Kentucky by poverty rate

Clay County had the highest poverty rate of 120 counties in 2015, at 46.8%. Oldham County had the lowest, at 6.2%. The median was 19.6% and the figure for Kentucky was 18.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest46.8Clay County
Lowest6.2Oldham County
Median19.6120 counties
Kentucky18.3History

Top 40 counties, 2015

CSVChart (SVG)

Clay CountyClay County: 46.8 %46.8Bell CountyBell County: 44.7 %44.7Owsley CountyOwsley County: 42.4 %42.4McCreary CountyMcCreary County: 41.5 %41.5Martin CountyMartin County: 40 %40Harlan CountyHarlan County: 35.5 %35.5Lee CountyLee County: 34.7 %34.7Elliott CountyElliott County: 34.4 %34.4Knott CountyKnott County: 33.8 %33.8Leslie CountyLeslie County: 33.7 %33.7Letcher CountyLetcher County: 33.2 %33.2Breathitt CountyBreathitt County: 32.9 %32.9Magoffin CountyMagoffin County: 32.6 %32.6Knox CountyKnox County: 32 %32Morgan CountyMorgan County: 31.3 %31.3Jackson CountyJackson County: 31.2 %31.2Wolfe CountyWolfe County: 30.7 %30.7Fulton CountyFulton County: 30.4 %30.4Floyd CountyFloyd County: 29.5 %29.5Whitley CountyWhitley County: 29.2 %29.2Perry CountyPerry County: 28.5 %28.5Estill CountyEstill County: 28.2 %28.2Wayne CountyWayne County: 28 %28Adair CountyAdair County: 27.2 %27.2Rowan CountyRowan County: 27.2 %27.2Menifee CountyMenifee County: 26.8 %26.8Clinton CountyClinton County: 26.4 %26.4Powell CountyPowell County: 26 %26Johnson CountyJohnson County: 25.9 %25.9Monroe CountyMonroe County: 25.3 %25.3Casey CountyCasey County: 25.1 %25.1Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 25 %25Pike CountyPike County: 25 %25Bath CountyBath County: 24.9 %24.9Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 24.8 %24.8Lewis CountyLewis County: 24.7 %24.7Russell CountyRussell County: 24.6 %24.6Laurel CountyLaurel County: 23 %23Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 23 %23Taylor CountyTaylor County: 23 %23
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015 (%)
1Clay County46.8
2Bell County44.7
3Owsley County42.4
4McCreary County41.5
5Martin County40
6Harlan County35.5
7Lee County34.7
8Elliott County34.4
9Knott County33.8
10Leslie County33.7
11Letcher County33.2
12Breathitt County32.9
13Magoffin County32.6
14Knox County32
15Morgan County31.3
16Jackson County31.2
17Wolfe County30.7
18Fulton County30.4
19Floyd County29.5
20Whitley County29.2
21Perry County28.5
22Estill County28.2
23Wayne County28
24Adair County27.2
24Rowan County27.2
26Menifee County26.8
27Clinton County26.4
28Powell County26
29Johnson County25.9
30Monroe County25.3
31Casey County25.1
32Lawrence County25
32Pike County25
34Bath County24.9
35Cumberland County24.8
36Lewis County24.7
37Russell County24.6
38Laurel County23
38Pulaski County23
38Taylor County23
41Grayson County22.9
41Metcalfe County22.9
41Rockcastle County22.9
44Robertson County22.5
45Hart County22
46Butler County21.6
47Montgomery County21.5
47Nicholas County21.5
49Lincoln County21.2
50Calloway County21.1
51Union County20.7
52Boyd County20.5
52Green County20.5
52Marion County20.5
55Christian County20.3
56Edmonson County20
56Fleming County20
58Ohio County19.9
59Allen County19.8
60Carter County19.7
61Mason County19.5
62Muhlenberg County19.4
63Barren County19.3
63Todd County19.3
65Crittenden County19.2
66Fayette County19.1
67Breckinridge County19
68Caldwell County18.8
69Hopkins County18.4
70Jessamine County18.3
71Madison County18.2
72Larue County18.1
72Webster County18.1
74Warren County18
75Henry County17.7
76Carroll County17.6
76Hickman County17.6
78McLean County17.3
79Boyle County17.2
80Washington County17.1
81Garrard County17
81Henderson County17
83Lyon County16.9
83Owen County16.9
85Greenup County16.8
86Grant County16.4
86Pendleton County16.4
88Graves County16.3
89Harrison County16.2
90Simpson County16
91Bracken County15.7
91Trimble County15.7
93Logan County15.5
94Clark County15.4
94Jefferson County15.4
96Livingston County15.3
97McCracken County15.2
98Ballard County15.1
98Mercer County15.1
98Trigg County15.1
101Gallatin County15
101Hardin County15
103Daviess County14.9
104Bourbon County14.8
104Carlisle County14.8
106Campbell County14.4
107Hancock County13.8
108Franklin County13.7
109Meade County13.5
110Scott County13.1
111Kenton County12.8
112Nelson County12.5
113Marshall County12.1
114Woodford County11.6
115Shelby County11.5
116Anderson County10.7
117Bullitt County9.6
118Spencer County9
119Boone County8.2
120Oldham County6.2

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.

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

Clay County, with 46.8% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Oldham County, with 6.2% 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 Kentucky: more rankings