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

Counties in New York by poverty rate

Bronx County had the highest poverty rate of 62 counties in 2020, at 24.4%. Putnam County had the lowest, at 5.7%. The median was 11.7% and the figure for New York was 12.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest24.4Bronx County
Lowest5.7Putnam County
Median11.762 counties
New York12.7History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Bronx CountyBronx County: 24.4 %24.4Broome CountyBroome County: 18.4 %18.4Kings CountyKings County: 17.8 %17.8Cattaraugus CountyCattaraugus County: 16.3 %16.3New York CountyNew York County: 16.3 %16.3Franklin CountyFranklin County: 15.9 %15.9Allegany CountyAllegany County: 15.1 %15.1Chautauqua CountyChautauqua County: 14.8 %14.8St. Lawrence CountySt. Lawrence County: 14.7 %14.7Chemung CountyChemung County: 14.5 %14.5Rockland CountyRockland County: 14.4 %14.4Oswego CountyOswego County: 14.2 %14.2Fulton CountyFulton County: 13.9 %13.9Monroe CountyMonroe County: 13.9 %13.9Erie CountyErie County: 13.2 %13.2Orleans CountyOrleans County: 13.2 %13.2Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 13.1 %13.1Yates CountyYates County: 12.9 %12.9Delaware CountyDelaware County: 12.8 %12.8Onondaga CountyOnondaga County: 12.8 %12.8Otsego CountyOtsego County: 12.8 %12.8Sullivan CountySullivan County: 12.7 %12.7Ulster CountyUlster County: 12.7 %12.7Oneida CountyOneida County: 12.4 %12.4Tompkins CountyTompkins County: 12.4 %12.4Herkimer CountyHerkimer County: 12.1 %12.1Seneca CountySeneca County: 12.1 %12.1Steuben CountySteuben County: 12.1 %12.1Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 11.9 %11.9Schuyler CountySchuyler County: 11.8 %11.8Cayuga CountyCayuga County: 11.7 %11.7Cortland CountyCortland County: 11.7 %11.7Niagara CountyNiagara County: 11.7 %11.7Chenango CountyChenango County: 11.5 %11.5Lewis CountyLewis County: 11.4 %11.4Albany CountyAlbany County: 11.3 %11.3Greene CountyGreene County: 11.2 %11.2Washington CountyWashington County: 11.2 %11.2Clinton CountyClinton County: 11.1 %11.1Schoharie CountySchoharie County: 11 %11
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020 (%)Change on 2019
1Bronx County24.4-1.8 pts
2Broome County18.4+0.6 pts
3Kings County17.8+0.1 pts
4Cattaraugus County16.3+1.6 pts
4New York County16.3+2.2 pts
6Franklin County15.9-2.2 pts
7Allegany County15.1-2.8 pts
8Chautauqua County14.8-1.5 pts
9St. Lawrence County14.7-4.2 pts
10Chemung County14.5+0.4 pts
11Rockland County14.4+1.9 pts
12Oswego County14.2-1.4 pts
13Fulton County13.9-2.5 pts
13Monroe County13.9+1.2 pts
15Erie County13.2-0.1 pts
15Orleans County13.20 pts
17Jefferson County13.1-1.5 pts
18Yates County12.9-1 pts
19Delaware County12.8+0.2 pts
19Onondaga County12.8-1 pts
19Otsego County12.8-3.4 pts
22Sullivan County12.7-3.4 pts
22Ulster County12.7+0.7 pts
24Oneida County12.4-2.2 pts
24Tompkins County12.4-4.5 pts
26Herkimer County12.1-1.6 pts
26Seneca County12.1-1.6 pts
26Steuben County12.1-2.9 pts
29Montgomery County11.9-4 pts
30Schuyler County11.8-3.9 pts
31Cayuga County11.7-2.1 pts
31Cortland County11.7-5.6 pts
31Niagara County11.7-0.7 pts
34Chenango County11.5-2.2 pts
35Lewis County11.4-1 pts
36Albany County11.3-0.4 pts
37Greene County11.2-1.4 pts
37Washington County11.2-0.7 pts
39Clinton County11.1-3.7 pts
40Schoharie County11-1.1 pts
41Schenectady County10.9-1.2 pts
42Orange County10.6-1.7 pts
42Richmond County10.6+1.5 pts
44Madison County10.4+0.6 pts
44Rensselaer County10.4-1.1 pts
46Livingston County10.3-3.5 pts
46Queens County10.3-0.7 pts
48Columbia County10.2+0.1 pts
48Essex County10.2-2.2 pts
48Genesee County10.2-0.3 pts
51Wayne County9.7-1.7 pts
52Wyoming County9.6-0.3 pts
53Tioga County9.3-0.1 pts
54Warren County8.9-1.2 pts
55Ontario County8.8+0.7 pts
56Hamilton County8.7-1.1 pts
57Dutchess County8.3-0.3 pts
58Westchester County7.6-0.8 pts
59Saratoga County6.3+0.3 pts
60Suffolk County6.1-0.7 pts
61Nassau County5.7+0.1 pts
61Putnam County5.7+0.5 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.

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 New York by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"New York","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=New%20York&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?

Bronx County, with 24.4% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Putnam County, with 5.7% 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 New York: more rankings