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

Counties in Pennsylvania by poverty rate

Forest County had the highest poverty rate of 67 counties in 2022, at 25.5%. Chester County had the lowest, at 5.6%. The median was 12.3% and the figure for Pennsylvania was 11.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest25.5Forest County
Lowest5.6Chester County
Median12.367 counties
Pennsylvania11.8History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Forest CountyForest County: 25.5 %25.5Philadelphia CountyPhiladelphia County: 21.5 %21.5Fayette CountyFayette County: 17.2 %17.2Cambria CountyCambria County: 16.2 %16.2Centre CountyCentre County: 16 %16McKean CountyMcKean County: 15.4 %15.4Luzerne CountyLuzerne County: 15.2 %15.2Potter CountyPotter County: 15 %15Erie CountyErie County: 14.9 %14.9Mifflin CountyMifflin County: 14.7 %14.7Somerset CountySomerset County: 14.3 %14.3Indiana CountyIndiana County: 14 %14Northumberland CountyNorthumberland County: 14 %14Columbia CountyColumbia County: 13.9 %13.9Crawford CountyCrawford County: 13.9 %13.9Venango CountyVenango County: 13.8 %13.8Clarion CountyClarion County: 13.7 %13.7Warren CountyWarren County: 13.5 %13.5Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 13.3 %13.3Blair CountyBlair County: 13.1 %13.1Lackawanna CountyLackawanna County: 13.1 %13.1Sullivan CountySullivan County: 13.1 %13.1Cameron CountyCameron County: 13 %13Greene CountyGreene County: 13 %13Huntingdon CountyHuntingdon County: 13 %13Clinton CountyClinton County: 12.9 %12.9Wayne CountyWayne County: 12.8 %12.8Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 12.7 %12.7Bedford CountyBedford County: 12.6 %12.6Armstrong CountyArmstrong County: 12.5 %12.5Mercer CountyMercer County: 12.5 %12.5Bradford CountyBradford County: 12.4 %12.4Dauphin CountyDauphin County: 12.3 %12.3Monroe CountyMonroe County: 12.3 %12.3Schuylkill CountySchuylkill County: 12.2 %12.2Tioga CountyTioga County: 12.2 %12.2Lycoming CountyLycoming County: 12 %12Clearfield CountyClearfield County: 11.7 %11.7Wyoming CountyWyoming County: 11.6 %11.6Washington CountyWashington County: 11.5 %11.5
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Forest County25.5+5.9 pts
2Philadelphia County21.5-0.8 pts
3Fayette County17.2+1.3 pts
4Cambria County16.2+3.3 pts
5Centre County16+0.8 pts
6McKean County15.4+2 pts
7Luzerne County15.2+2.4 pts
8Potter County15-1.1 pts
9Erie County14.9-0.9 pts
10Mifflin County14.7-0.4 pts
11Somerset County14.3+1.4 pts
12Indiana County14+0.3 pts
12Northumberland County14+2.2 pts
14Columbia County13.9-2.3 pts
14Crawford County13.9-1.1 pts
16Venango County13.8+0.7 pts
17Clarion County13.7+1.9 pts
18Warren County13.5+1.2 pts
19Jefferson County13.30 pts
20Blair County13.1+1.2 pts
20Lackawanna County13.1-0.6 pts
20Sullivan County13.1+0.2 pts
23Cameron County13-0.4 pts
23Greene County13-1.8 pts
23Huntingdon County13-0.9 pts
26Clinton County12.9-0.3 pts
27Wayne County12.8+0.2 pts
28Lawrence County12.7+0.5 pts
29Bedford County12.6+1 pts
30Armstrong County12.5+0.7 pts
30Mercer County12.5-0.4 pts
32Bradford County12.4-1.3 pts
33Dauphin County12.3+0.5 pts
33Monroe County12.3+1 pts
35Schuylkill County12.2-0.6 pts
35Tioga County12.2-1.1 pts
37Lycoming County12+1.3 pts
38Clearfield County11.7-2.5 pts
39Wyoming County11.60 pts
40Washington County11.5+2.4 pts
41Union County11.4-0.7 pts
42Allegheny County11.30 pts
42Lebanon County11.3+2.3 pts
42Lehigh County11.3+0.2 pts
45Fulton County11.2-0.2 pts
45Susquehanna County11.2-0.8 pts
47Juniata County11.1+1.2 pts
48Berks County10.8-2.1 pts
49Northampton County10.6+0.9 pts
50Beaver County10.2-0.9 pts
50Carbon County10.2-3.8 pts
52Elk County10-0.1 pts
53Snyder County9.8+0.1 pts
54Delaware County9.7-0.4 pts
54Westmoreland County9.7-1.5 pts
56Montour County9.6+0.3 pts
57Lancaster County9.1+0.3 pts
57York County9.1-0.1 pts
59Pike County9+0.2 pts
60Butler County8.9+0.4 pts
61Perry County8.7+0.8 pts
62Adams County8.60 pts
62Franklin County8.6-0.9 pts
64Cumberland County7.9-0.1 pts
65Montgomery County6.6-0.4 pts
66Bucks County5.9-0.6 pts
67Chester County5.6-1 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/2022/2022-state-and-county/est22all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Rank Counties in Pennsylvania by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Forest County, with 25.5% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Chester County, with 5.6% in 2022.

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 Pennsylvania: more rankings