Counties in North Carolina by poverty rate

Robeson County had the highest poverty rate of 100 counties in 2019, at 31.5%. Union County had the lowest, at 7.3%. The median was 15.2% and the figure for North Carolina was 13.6%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest31.5Robeson County
Lowest7.3Union County
Median15.2100 counties
North Carolina13.6History

Top 40 counties, 2019

CSVChart (SVG)

Robeson CountyRobeson County: 31.5 %31.5Scotland CountyScotland County: 28.5 %28.5Richmond CountyRichmond County: 25.8 %25.8Tyrrell CountyTyrrell County: 25.4 %25.4Bertie CountyBertie County: 24.2 %24.2Halifax CountyHalifax County: 23.8 %23.8Lenoir CountyLenoir County: 23.1 %23.1Hertford CountyHertford County: 23 %23Columbus CountyColumbus County: 22.3 %22.3Warren CountyWarren County: 21.7 %21.7Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 21.6 %21.6Wilson CountyWilson County: 21.5 %21.5Anson CountyAnson County: 21.4 %21.4Watauga CountyWatauga County: 21.4 %21.4Washington CountyWashington County: 21.3 %21.3Bladen CountyBladen County: 21.2 %21.2Edgecombe CountyEdgecombe County: 21 %21Martin CountyMartin County: 20.6 %20.6Greene CountyGreene County: 20.2 %20.2Jackson CountyJackson County: 19.3 %19.3Hyde CountyHyde County: 19.2 %19.2Pitt CountyPitt County: 19.2 %19.2Cleveland CountyCleveland County: 19 %19Jones CountyJones County: 18.8 %18.8Wayne CountyWayne County: 18.6 %18.6Chowan CountyChowan County: 18.5 %18.5Rutherford CountyRutherford County: 18.5 %18.5Vance CountyVance County: 18.5 %18.5Burke CountyBurke County: 18.4 %18.4Rockingham CountyRockingham County: 18.4 %18.4Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 18 %18Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 17.7 %17.7Duplin CountyDuplin County: 17.7 %17.7Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 17.6 %17.6Alleghany CountyAlleghany County: 16.9 %16.9Hoke CountyHoke County: 16.9 %16.9Graham CountyGraham County: 16.8 %16.8Sampson CountySampson County: 16.8 %16.8Avery CountyAvery County: 16.4 %16.4Nash CountyNash County: 16.4 %16.4
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Robeson County31.5+7 pts
2Scotland County28.5+1.6 pts
3Richmond County25.8+5.9 pts
4Tyrrell County25.4+0.2 pts
5Bertie County24.2+0.7 pts
6Halifax County23.8+1.8 pts
7Lenoir County23.1+1 pts
8Hertford County23-0.2 pts
9Columbus County22.3-3 pts
10Warren County21.7+1.9 pts
11Northampton County21.6+0.2 pts
12Wilson County21.5+0.4 pts
13Anson County21.4+0.9 pts
13Watauga County21.4+0.2 pts
15Washington County21.3+0.2 pts
16Bladen County21.2-7.9 pts
17Edgecombe County21-1.9 pts
18Martin County20.6+0.3 pts
19Greene County20.2-3.3 pts
20Jackson County19.3+2.6 pts
21Hyde County19.2-3 pts
21Pitt County19.2-4 pts
23Cleveland County19-0.1 pts
24Jones County18.8+2.6 pts
25Wayne County18.6-1.6 pts
26Chowan County18.5+1.3 pts
26Rutherford County18.5-0.6 pts
26Vance County18.5-7.8 pts
29Burke County18.4+4.4 pts
29Rockingham County18.4+0.5 pts
31Cumberland County18+1 pts
32Cherokee County17.7-1.1 pts
32Duplin County17.7-2.7 pts
34Beaufort County17.6-0.5 pts
35Alleghany County16.9-1.8 pts
35Hoke County16.9-1.1 pts
37Graham County16.8-2.1 pts
37Sampson County16.8-6 pts
39Avery County16.4-0.4 pts
39Nash County16.4+2.2 pts
41Caswell County16.2-0.9 pts
42Montgomery County16.1-0.6 pts
42Swain County16.1+0.9 pts
44Guilford County16+0.6 pts
44Surry County160 pts
46Pamlico County15.9-0.7 pts
47Harnett County15.6+1.2 pts
48Person County15.4+0.6 pts
49Davidson County15.2+0.2 pts
49Forsyth County15.2-1.2 pts
49Wilkes County15.2-3.7 pts
52Perquimans County15-0.8 pts
53Mitchell County14.8-1.3 pts
54Gates County14.7-0.5 pts
55Alamance County14.6+1.1 pts
55Ashe County14.6-2.3 pts
55Granville County14.6+1.6 pts
55Madison County14.6-2.4 pts
59Macon County14.3-2 pts
59Pasquotank County14.3-3.9 pts
61Lee County14.2-1.5 pts
61Yancey County14.2-3.6 pts
63Randolph County14.1+0.3 pts
64Clay County14-0.6 pts
64Durham County14+0.5 pts
66Rowan County13.9-2.4 pts
66Yadkin County13.9+0.9 pts
68Craven County13.8-1.1 pts
69McDowell County13.6-1.8 pts
70Orange County13.4+1 pts
71Catawba County13.3+0.3 pts
72Transylvania County13.1+0.3 pts
73New Hanover County13-2.3 pts
73Stokes County13+0.9 pts
75Johnston County12.5+0.8 pts
75Onslow County12.5-2.6 pts
77Buncombe County12.2+0.7 pts
78Polk County12.1+0.3 pts
79Caldwell County12-3.9 pts
80Alexander County11.7-1.3 pts
81Franklin County11.6-1.1 pts
81Gaston County11.6-2.6 pts
83Pender County11.5-3.6 pts
84Moore County11.3+0.8 pts
85Davie County10.9+0.1 pts
86Stanly County10.7-2.5 pts
87Haywood County10.6-2.5 pts
87Henderson County10.6+0.9 pts
89Carteret County10.4+0.6 pts
90Mecklenburg County10.3-1.4 pts
91Brunswick County10.2-0.3 pts
92Lincoln County9-1.3 pts
93Dare County8.9+0.6 pts
94Currituck County8.8-0.9 pts
95Chatham County8.7-0.6 pts
96Iredell County8.2-1.3 pts
97Wake County8-0.4 pts
98Cabarrus County7.9-1.1 pts
99Camden County7.6-0.7 pts
100Union County7.3+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/2019/2019-state-and-county/est19all.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 North Carolina by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=North%20Carolina&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?

Robeson County, with 31.5% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Union County, with 7.3% in 2019.

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 North Carolina: more rankings