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

Counties in Kentucky by poverty rate

Owsley County had the highest poverty rate of 120 counties in 2016, at 45.2%. Oldham County had the lowest, at 5.9%. The median was 20% and the figure for Kentucky was 18.2%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest45.2Owsley County
Lowest5.9Oldham County
Median20120 counties
Kentucky18.2History

Top 40 counties, 2016

CSVChart (SVG)

Owsley CountyOwsley County: 45.2 %45.2Clay CountyClay County: 42.1 %42.1Martin CountyMartin County: 39.3 %39.3McCreary CountyMcCreary County: 39.3 %39.3Knox CountyKnox County: 39.2 %39.2Lee CountyLee County: 39 %39Bell CountyBell County: 38.7 %38.7Knott CountyKnott County: 38.2 %38.2Harlan CountyHarlan County: 37.1 %37.1Breathitt CountyBreathitt County: 34.3 %34.3Wolfe CountyWolfe County: 32.2 %32.2Jackson CountyJackson County: 31.9 %31.9Magoffin CountyMagoffin County: 31.9 %31.9Leslie CountyLeslie County: 31.8 %31.8Letcher CountyLetcher County: 31.6 %31.6Pike CountyPike County: 31.4 %31.4Perry CountyPerry County: 30.9 %30.9Elliott CountyElliott County: 30.7 %30.7Floyd CountyFloyd County: 30.4 %30.4Fulton CountyFulton County: 30 %30Whitley CountyWhitley County: 29.3 %29.3Casey CountyCasey County: 27.8 %27.8Estill CountyEstill County: 27.3 %27.3Morgan CountyMorgan County: 27.2 %27.2Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 27.1 %27.1Wayne CountyWayne County: 26.9 %26.9Lewis CountyLewis County: 26.8 %26.8Powell CountyPowell County: 26.5 %26.5Adair CountyAdair County: 26.1 %26.1Johnson CountyJohnson County: 25.9 %25.9Rowan CountyRowan County: 25.4 %25.4Clinton CountyClinton County: 25.3 %25.3Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 25.3 %25.3Russell CountyRussell County: 25 %25Bath CountyBath County: 24.9 %24.9Robertson CountyRobertson County: 24.6 %24.6Rockcastle CountyRockcastle County: 24.2 %24.2Menifee CountyMenifee County: 24.1 %24.1Laurel CountyLaurel County: 23.2 %23.2Monroe CountyMonroe County: 23.2 %23.2
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Owsley County45.2+2.8 pts
2Clay County42.1-4.7 pts
3Martin County39.3-0.7 pts
3McCreary County39.3-2.2 pts
5Knox County39.2+7.2 pts
6Lee County39+4.3 pts
7Bell County38.7-6 pts
8Knott County38.2+4.4 pts
9Harlan County37.1+1.6 pts
10Breathitt County34.3+1.4 pts
11Wolfe County32.2+1.5 pts
12Jackson County31.9+0.7 pts
12Magoffin County31.9-0.7 pts
14Leslie County31.8-1.9 pts
15Letcher County31.6-1.6 pts
16Pike County31.4+6.4 pts
17Perry County30.9+2.4 pts
18Elliott County30.7-3.7 pts
19Floyd County30.4+0.9 pts
20Fulton County30-0.4 pts
21Whitley County29.3+0.1 pts
22Casey County27.8+2.7 pts
23Estill County27.3-0.9 pts
24Morgan County27.2-4.1 pts
25Lawrence County27.1+2.1 pts
26Wayne County26.9-1.1 pts
27Lewis County26.8+2.1 pts
28Powell County26.5+0.5 pts
29Adair County26.1-1.1 pts
30Johnson County25.90 pts
31Rowan County25.4-1.8 pts
32Clinton County25.3-1.1 pts
32Cumberland County25.3+0.5 pts
34Russell County25+0.4 pts
35Bath County24.90 pts
36Robertson County24.6+2.1 pts
37Rockcastle County24.2+1.3 pts
38Menifee County24.1-2.7 pts
39Laurel County23.2+0.2 pts
39Monroe County23.2-2.1 pts
41Lincoln County22.9+1.7 pts
42Metcalfe County22.7-0.2 pts
43Carter County22.6+2.9 pts
44Edmonson County22.3+2.3 pts
45Grayson County22.1-0.8 pts
46Barren County21.8+2.5 pts
46Hart County21.8-0.2 pts
48Madison County21.3+3.1 pts
48Taylor County21.3-1.7 pts
50Calloway County21.2+0.1 pts
50Fleming County21.2+1.2 pts
52Carroll County20.8+3.2 pts
52Christian County20.8+0.5 pts
54Graves County20.7+4.4 pts
55Caldwell County20.4+1.6 pts
55Green County20.4-0.1 pts
55Todd County20.4+1.1 pts
58Ohio County20.3+0.4 pts
59Hickman County20.1+2.5 pts
59Marion County20.1-0.4 pts
61Nicholas County19.8-1.7 pts
62Muhlenberg County19.6+0.2 pts
63Mason County19.4-0.1 pts
64Pulaski County18.9-4.1 pts
65McCracken County18.7+3.5 pts
66Allen County18.6-1.2 pts
66Crittenden County18.6-0.6 pts
66Union County18.6-2.1 pts
69Henry County18.5+0.8 pts
69Warren County18.5+0.5 pts
71Hopkins County18.3-0.1 pts
72Boyd County18.2-2.3 pts
72Owen County18.2+1.3 pts
74Fayette County17.9-1.2 pts
74Montgomery County17.9-3.6 pts
74Webster County17.9-0.2 pts
77Butler County17.8-3.8 pts
78Bourbon County17.6+2.8 pts
79Logan County17.5+2 pts
80Greenup County17.4+0.6 pts
81Breckinridge County17.3-1.7 pts
81McLean County17.30 pts
83Boyle County17.1-0.1 pts
83Henderson County17.1+0.1 pts
85Larue County16.9-1.2 pts
86Bracken County16.7+1 pts
87Daviess County16.4+1.5 pts
87Lyon County16.4-0.5 pts
89Garrard County16.3-0.7 pts
90Ballard County16.2+1.1 pts
91Clark County15.9+0.5 pts
91Jessamine County15.9-2.4 pts
93Washington County15.7-1.4 pts
94Grant County15.6-0.8 pts
95Harrison County15.3-0.9 pts
96Simpson County15.1-0.9 pts
97Jefferson County14.9-0.5 pts
98Trimble County14.8-0.9 pts
99Carlisle County14.5-0.3 pts
99Gallatin County14.5-0.5 pts
99Livingston County14.5-0.8 pts
99Mercer County14.5-0.6 pts
99Trigg County14.5-0.6 pts
104Pendleton County14.4-2 pts
105Hardin County13.8-1.2 pts
106Franklin County13.70 pts
107Meade County13.4-0.1 pts
108Hancock County12.6-1.2 pts
108Kenton County12.6-0.2 pts
110Campbell County12.5-1.9 pts
111Marshall County12.10 pts
111Woodford County12.1+0.5 pts
113Nelson County11.6-0.9 pts
114Shelby County11.50 pts
115Anderson County10.6-0.1 pts
116Bullitt County10.4+0.8 pts
116Scott County10.4-2.7 pts
118Spencer County8.8-0.2 pts
119Boone County7.6-0.6 pts
120Oldham County5.9-0.3 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 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?

Owsley County, with 45.2% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Oldham County, with 5.9% 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 Kentucky: more rankings