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

Counties in Massachusetts by poverty rate

Suffolk County had the highest poverty rate of 14 counties in 2017, at 17.9%. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 5.7%. The median was 10.2% and the figure for Massachusetts was 10.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest17.9Suffolk County
Lowest5.7Nantucket County
Median10.214 counties
Massachusetts10.5History

All counties, 2017

CSVChart (SVG)

Suffolk CountySuffolk County: 17.9 %17.9Hampden CountyHampden County: 17.1 %17.1Bristol CountyBristol County: 11.1 %11.1Berkshire CountyBerkshire County: 10.6 %10.6Franklin CountyFranklin County: 10.4 %10.4Worcester CountyWorcester County: 10.4 %10.4Essex CountyEssex County: 10.2 %10.2Hampshire CountyHampshire County: 10.2 %10.2Middlesex CountyMiddlesex County: 8 %8Barnstable CountyBarnstable County: 7.6 %7.6Dukes CountyDukes County: 7.6 %7.6Plymouth CountyPlymouth County: 7.3 %7.3Norfolk CountyNorfolk County: 6.7 %6.7Nantucket CountyNantucket County: 5.7 %5.7
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Suffolk County17.9-1.6 pts
2Hampden County17.1+0.6 pts
3Bristol County11.1+0.4 pts
4Berkshire County10.6-0.3 pts
5Franklin County10.4+0.4 pts
5Worcester County10.4+0.8 pts
7Essex County10.2-0.5 pts
7Hampshire County10.2-1.7 pts
9Middlesex County8+0.3 pts
10Barnstable County7.60 pts
10Dukes County7.60 pts
12Plymouth County7.3-0.7 pts
13Norfolk County6.7+0.6 pts
14Nantucket County5.7-0.7 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/2017/2017-state-and-county/est17all.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 Massachusetts by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Massachusetts","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Massachusetts&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?

Suffolk County, with 17.9% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Nantucket County, with 5.7% in 2017.

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 Massachusetts: more rankings