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

Counties in Maryland by poverty rate

Somerset County had the highest poverty rate of 24 counties in 2016, at 24.3%. Howard County had the lowest, at 5.2%. The median was 9.6% and the figure for Maryland was 9.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest24.3Somerset County
Lowest5.2Howard County
Median9.624 counties
Maryland9.7History

All counties, 2016

CSVChart (SVG)

Somerset CountySomerset County: 24.3 %24.3Baltimore cityBaltimore city: 21.8 %21.8Wicomico CountyWicomico County: 18 %18Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 17.4 %17.4Allegany CountyAllegany County: 17.2 %17.2Caroline CountyCaroline County: 15.3 %15.3Kent CountyKent County: 14 %14Washington CountyWashington County: 13.2 %13.2Garrett CountyGarrett County: 12.8 %12.8Worcester CountyWorcester County: 11.4 %11.4Talbot CountyTalbot County: 10.4 %10.4Cecil CountyCecil County: 10 %10Prince George's CountyPrince George's County: 9.2 %9.2St. Mary's CountySt. Mary's County: 9.1 %9.1Baltimore CountyBaltimore County: 9 %9Charles CountyCharles County: 7.4 %7.4Queen Anne's CountyQueen Anne's County: 7.3 %7.3Harford CountyHarford County: 7.2 %7.2Anne Arundel CountyAnne Arundel County: 7 %7Frederick CountyFrederick County: 6.9 %6.9Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 6.9 %6.9Calvert CountyCalvert County: 5.8 %5.8Carroll CountyCarroll County: 5.5 %5.5Howard CountyHoward County: 5.2 %5.2
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Somerset County24.3-1.5 pts
2Baltimore city21.8-0.9 pts
3Wicomico County18+3.3 pts
4Dorchester County17.4-0.7 pts
5Allegany County17.2-2.8 pts
6Caroline County15.3+0.9 pts
7Kent County14-0.8 pts
8Washington County13.2+1.2 pts
9Garrett County12.8-0.8 pts
10Worcester County11.4+0.1 pts
11Talbot County10.40 pts
12Cecil County100 pts
13Prince George's County9.2-0.3 pts
14St. Mary's County9.1+0.4 pts
15Baltimore County9-0.1 pts
16Charles County7.4+0.3 pts
17Queen Anne's County7.3+0.1 pts
18Harford County7.2-0.6 pts
19Anne Arundel County7+1 pts
20Frederick County6.9-0.5 pts
20Montgomery County6.9-0.6 pts
22Calvert County5.8-0.1 pts
23Carroll County5.5-0.7 pts
24Howard County5.20 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 Maryland by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Maryland","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Maryland&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?

Somerset County, with 24.3% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Howard County, with 5.2% 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 Maryland: more rankings