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

Counties in Tennessee by poverty rate

Lake County had the highest poverty rate of 95 counties in 2016, at 42.7%. Williamson County had the lowest, at 5.2%. The median was 17.8% and the figure for Tennessee was 15.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest42.7Lake County
Lowest5.2Williamson County
Median17.895 counties
Tennessee15.8History

Top 40 counties, 2016

CSVChart (SVG)

Lake CountyLake County: 42.7 %42.7Hancock CountyHancock County: 30.9 %30.9Claiborne CountyClaiborne County: 25.4 %25.4Johnson CountyJohnson County: 25.4 %25.4Hardeman CountyHardeman County: 25.2 %25.2Lauderdale CountyLauderdale County: 24.9 %24.9Cocke CountyCocke County: 24.2 %24.2Campbell CountyCampbell County: 24.1 %24.1Bledsoe CountyBledsoe County: 23.8 %23.8Morgan CountyMorgan County: 22.7 %22.7Grundy CountyGrundy County: 22.6 %22.6Union CountyUnion County: 22.2 %22.2Perry CountyPerry County: 22.1 %22.1Clay CountyClay County: 22 %22McNairy CountyMcNairy County: 22 %22Scott CountyScott County: 22 %22Jackson CountyJackson County: 21.9 %21.9Carter CountyCarter County: 21.5 %21.5Hardin CountyHardin County: 21.5 %21.5Fentress CountyFentress County: 21.4 %21.4Wayne CountyWayne County: 20.9 %20.9Shelby CountyShelby County: 20.8 %20.8Weakley CountyWeakley County: 20.8 %20.8Hickman CountyHickman County: 20.7 %20.7Dyer CountyDyer County: 20 %20Grainger CountyGrainger County: 20 %20Haywood CountyHaywood County: 20 %20DeKalb CountyDeKalb County: 19.8 %19.8Henry CountyHenry County: 19.5 %19.5Warren CountyWarren County: 19.4 %19.4Monroe CountyMonroe County: 19.3 %19.3Hawkins CountyHawkins County: 19.2 %19.2Putnam CountyPutnam County: 19.2 %19.2Van Buren CountyVan Buren County: 19.1 %19.1Madison CountyMadison County: 19 %19Decatur CountyDecatur County: 18.8 %18.8Overton CountyOverton County: 18.7 %18.7Obion CountyObion County: 18.6 %18.6Hamblen CountyHamblen County: 18.5 %18.5Lewis CountyLewis County: 18.5 %18.5
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Lake County42.7-0.4 pts
2Hancock County30.9+0.8 pts
3Claiborne County25.4+3.8 pts
3Johnson County25.4-1.8 pts
5Hardeman County25.2+1 pts
6Lauderdale County24.9-1.3 pts
7Cocke County24.2-2.2 pts
8Campbell County24.1-2.1 pts
9Bledsoe County23.8-2.3 pts
10Morgan County22.7+1.5 pts
11Grundy County22.6-3.5 pts
12Union County22.2-1.7 pts
13Perry County22.1-0.2 pts
14Clay County22-1.7 pts
14McNairy County22+3.1 pts
14Scott County22-3.5 pts
17Jackson County21.9-1.7 pts
18Carter County21.5-2.1 pts
18Hardin County21.5-1.2 pts
20Fentress County21.4-4.3 pts
21Wayne County20.9-4.5 pts
22Shelby County20.8+0.6 pts
22Weakley County20.8+2.6 pts
24Hickman County20.7+0.3 pts
25Dyer County20-2.5 pts
25Grainger County20+1.3 pts
25Haywood County20-2.5 pts
28DeKalb County19.8-0.4 pts
29Henry County19.5+0.4 pts
30Warren County19.4-1.8 pts
31Monroe County19.3+0.7 pts
32Hawkins County19.2-2 pts
32Putnam County19.2-0.5 pts
34Van Buren County19.1+0.2 pts
35Madison County19+0.9 pts
36Decatur County18.8-0.6 pts
37Overton County18.7+1.2 pts
38Obion County18.6-0.9 pts
39Hamblen County18.5-0.5 pts
39Lewis County18.5+0.6 pts
41Humphreys County18.4+2.5 pts
42Carroll County18.3-2.8 pts
42Marion County18.3-0.7 pts
42Meigs County18.3-1.9 pts
45Rhea County18.2-5.1 pts
46Benton County17.9-2.6 pts
46Macon County17.9-0.6 pts
48Houston County17.8-1.7 pts
49Sequatchie County17.7-1 pts
49White County17.7-0.5 pts
51Crockett County17.6-1.5 pts
52Henderson County17.4-0.1 pts
53Unicoi County17.3-1.9 pts
54Greene County17-1 pts
54Pickett County17-1.9 pts
56Gibson County16.9+1.2 pts
56McMinn County16.9-6.1 pts
58Giles County16.7+0.6 pts
58Lawrence County16.7-2.2 pts
58Lincoln County16.7+0.7 pts
61Stewart County16.4+0.9 pts
61Sullivan County16.40 pts
63Polk County16.2-2.2 pts
64Tipton County16.1+1.7 pts
65Chester County16-3 pts
66Jefferson County15.7-1.1 pts
67Cannon County15.5-0.9 pts
67Franklin County15.5+0.5 pts
69Cumberland County15.3-1.4 pts
69Trousdale County15.3-0.9 pts
71Davidson County15.1-2 pts
71Sevier County15.1+0.5 pts
73Knox County14.8-0.8 pts
73Washington County14.8-2.4 pts
75Bedford County14.7-2.3 pts
76Smith County14.6-3.5 pts
77Fayette County14.5+0.7 pts
78Anderson County14.4-5.3 pts
79Coffee County14.3-1.6 pts
80Bradley County14.2-3.9 pts
80Roane County14.2-3.4 pts
82Dickson County13.5-2.9 pts
82Hamilton County13.5-1.7 pts
84Marshall County13.2-0.6 pts
85Montgomery County12.9-0.5 pts
86Maury County11.5-1.7 pts
87Blount County11.4-1.7 pts
88Cheatham County11.1+0.5 pts
89Moore County10.9-0.9 pts
90Loudon County10.6-2.9 pts
91Robertson County10.3-2 pts
91Rutherford County10.3-0.8 pts
93Sumner County9.7-0.4 pts
94Wilson County8.1-0.3 pts
95Williamson County5.2+0.2 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 Tennessee by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Tennessee","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Tennessee&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?

Lake County, with 42.7% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Williamson 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 Tennessee: more rankings