Counties in Tennessee by poverty rate

Lake County had the highest poverty rate of 95 counties in 2019, at 35.5%. Williamson County had the lowest, at 4.3%. The median was 15.8% and the figure for Tennessee was 13.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest35.5Lake County
Median15.895 counties
Tennessee13.8History

Top 40 counties, 2019

CSVChart (SVG)

Lake CountyLake County: 35.5 %35.5Bledsoe CountyBledsoe County: 27.3 %27.3Hancock CountyHancock County: 26.4 %26.4Johnson CountyJohnson County: 25.2 %25.2Cocke CountyCocke County: 22.8 %22.8Morgan CountyMorgan County: 22 %22Scott CountyScott County: 22 %22Campbell CountyCampbell County: 21.9 %21.9Grundy CountyGrundy County: 21.4 %21.4Fentress CountyFentress County: 20.9 %20.9Haywood CountyHaywood County: 20.7 %20.7Clay CountyClay County: 20.1 %20.1Claiborne CountyClaiborne County: 19.7 %19.7Carter CountyCarter County: 19.3 %19.3Lauderdale CountyLauderdale County: 19.3 %19.3Hardeman CountyHardeman County: 19.2 %19.2Henry CountyHenry County: 18.3 %18.3Union CountyUnion County: 18.3 %18.3Hawkins CountyHawkins County: 18.1 %18.1DeKalb CountyDeKalb County: 18 %18Houston CountyHouston County: 17.8 %17.8Pickett CountyPickett County: 17.8 %17.8Weakley CountyWeakley County: 17.7 %17.7Benton CountyBenton County: 17.6 %17.6Madison CountyMadison County: 17.6 %17.6Hardin CountyHardin County: 17.5 %17.5Sequatchie CountySequatchie County: 17.4 %17.4Dyer CountyDyer County: 17.3 %17.3Wayne CountyWayne County: 17.3 %17.3Shelby CountyShelby County: 17.2 %17.2Grainger CountyGrainger County: 17.1 %17.1Jackson CountyJackson County: 17.1 %17.1Overton CountyOverton County: 17.1 %17.1McNairy CountyMcNairy County: 17 %17Carroll CountyCarroll County: 16.8 %16.8Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 16.7 %16.7Monroe CountyMonroe County: 16.5 %16.5Hickman CountyHickman County: 16.3 %16.3Meigs CountyMeigs County: 16.1 %16.1Putnam CountyPutnam County: 16.1 %16.1
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Lake County35.5-1 pts
2Bledsoe County27.3+0.6 pts
3Hancock County26.4-3.5 pts
4Johnson County25.2+4.5 pts
5Cocke County22.8+0.3 pts
6Morgan County22+1.6 pts
6Scott County22+0.8 pts
8Campbell County21.9+0.3 pts
9Grundy County21.4+0.2 pts
10Fentress County20.9+0.3 pts
11Haywood County20.7+0.2 pts
12Clay County20.1-0.9 pts
13Claiborne County19.7-3.7 pts
14Carter County19.3+0.2 pts
14Lauderdale County19.3-5.6 pts
16Hardeman County19.2-4.3 pts
17Henry County18.3-0.5 pts
17Union County18.3-1.5 pts
19Hawkins County18.1-0.3 pts
20DeKalb County18+0.6 pts
21Houston County17.8+1.1 pts
21Pickett County17.8+1.8 pts
23Weakley County17.7-2 pts
24Benton County17.6-1.6 pts
24Madison County17.6-0.2 pts
26Hardin County17.5-2.8 pts
27Sequatchie County17.4+1.4 pts
28Dyer County17.3-1.1 pts
28Wayne County17.3-4 pts
30Shelby County17.2-4.5 pts
31Grainger County17.1-1.3 pts
31Jackson County17.1-2.7 pts
31Overton County17.1+2.1 pts
34McNairy County17-0.4 pts
35Carroll County16.8-1.8 pts
36Lawrence County16.7-1 pts
37Monroe County16.5+0.8 pts
38Hickman County16.30 pts
39Meigs County16.1-1.7 pts
39Putnam County16.1+1.6 pts
41Decatur County16-2.2 pts
41White County16-1.3 pts
43Greene County15.9+0.8 pts
43Warren County15.9-6.6 pts
45Crockett County15.8-3.6 pts
45Henderson County15.8-2.2 pts
45Trousdale County15.8-2.8 pts
45Unicoi County15.8-0.3 pts
45Washington County15.8+0.9 pts
50Macon County15.5-2.6 pts
50Van Buren County15.5-0.8 pts
52Rhea County15.4-3 pts
53Anderson County15.3-1.2 pts
53Marion County15.30 pts
53Polk County15.3-0.5 pts
53Smith County15.3+1.4 pts
57Lewis County15.2-2.3 pts
58Sullivan County15.1-1.4 pts
59Chester County14.8-1.1 pts
60Obion County14.6-3.1 pts
60Roane County14.6-0.2 pts
62Bradley County14.5-0.2 pts
62McMinn County14.5-1.4 pts
64Coffee County14.4-1.5 pts
64Hamblen County14.4-2.7 pts
64Perry County14.4-3.2 pts
67Gibson County14.3-2.2 pts
68Bedford County13.9-0.5 pts
68Franklin County13.9-2.1 pts
70Giles County13.4-1.1 pts
70Knox County13.4+0.2 pts
72Cumberland County13.3-1.1 pts
73Humphreys County13.1-0.5 pts
73Marshall County13.1-1 pts
75Cannon County13-1.2 pts
76Sevier County12.9-1 pts
76Stewart County12.9-1 pts
78Lincoln County12.8-1.6 pts
79Hamilton County12.7-0.3 pts
80Davidson County12.6-2.8 pts
81Jefferson County12.5-1.3 pts
82Montgomery County120 pts
83Fayette County11.2-1.9 pts
84Blount County10.5+0.6 pts
84Robertson County10.5-0.1 pts
84Tipton County10.5-1.5 pts
87Dickson County10.1-3.7 pts
88Moore County10+0.9 pts
88Rutherford County10-0.4 pts
90Loudon County9.7+0.6 pts
91Cheatham County9.6-0.7 pts
92Sumner County8.6-0.3 pts
93Maury County8.5-2.3 pts
94Wilson County7.4-0.4 pts
95Williamson County4.3+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/2019/2019-state-and-county/est19all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Lake County, with 35.5% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Williamson County, with 4.3% 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 Tennessee: more rankings