Counties in Virginia by poverty rate

Radford city had the highest poverty rate of 133 counties in 2021, at 25.6%. Loudoun County had the lowest, at 3.6%. The median was 12.4% and the figure for Virginia was 10.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest25.6Radford city
Median12.4133 counties
Virginia10.3History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Radford cityRadford city: 25.6 %25.6Lee CountyLee County: 25.1 %25.1Harrisonburg cityHarrisonburg city: 25 %25Greensville CountyGreensville County: 24.4 %24.4Danville cityDanville city: 24.2 %24.2Buchanan CountyBuchanan County: 23.9 %23.9Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 23.3 %23.3Petersburg cityPetersburg city: 22.8 %22.8Dickenson CountyDickenson County: 22 %22Charlottesville cityCharlottesville city: 21.6 %21.6Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 21.3 %21.3Emporia cityEmporia city: 21.1 %21.1Richmond cityRichmond city: 21.1 %21.1Galax cityGalax city: 21 %21Lexington cityLexington city: 21 %21Nottoway CountyNottoway County: 21 %21Hopewell cityHopewell city: 20.8 %20.8Norton cityNorton city: 20.4 %20.4Martinsville cityMartinsville city: 19.9 %19.9Franklin cityFranklin city: 19.6 %19.6Scott CountyScott County: 19.6 %19.6Tazewell CountyTazewell County: 19.6 %19.6Sussex CountySussex County: 19.5 %19.5Williamsburg cityWilliamsburg city: 19.3 %19.3Wise CountyWise County: 19.2 %19.2Lunenburg CountyLunenburg County: 18.7 %18.7Prince Edward CountyPrince Edward County: 18.7 %18.7Bristol cityBristol city: 18.4 %18.4Russell CountyRussell County: 18.4 %18.4Roanoke cityRoanoke city: 17.9 %17.9Lynchburg cityLynchburg city: 17.8 %17.8Grayson CountyGrayson County: 17.6 %17.6Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 17.6 %17.6Portsmouth cityPortsmouth city: 17.6 %17.6Smyth CountySmyth County: 17.5 %17.5Covington cityCovington city: 17.4 %17.4Henry CountyHenry County: 17 %17Charlotte CountyCharlotte County: 16.9 %16.9Norfolk cityNorfolk city: 16.9 %16.9Richmond CountyRichmond County: 16.9 %16.9
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Radford city25.6+1 pts
2Lee County25.1-0.9 pts
3Harrisonburg city25+2.8 pts
4Greensville County24.4+2.9 pts
5Danville city24.2+2.1 pts
6Buchanan County23.9+0.2 pts
7Montgomery County23.3+4 pts
8Petersburg city22.8+2 pts
9Dickenson County22+2.7 pts
10Charlottesville city21.6+5.8 pts
11Brunswick County21.3+1.1 pts
12Emporia city21.1+2 pts
12Richmond city21.1+3.2 pts
14Galax city21+2.2 pts
14Lexington city21+2.5 pts
14Nottoway County21+1.8 pts
17Hopewell city20.8+3.4 pts
18Norton city20.4-0.1 pts
19Martinsville city19.9-1.4 pts
20Franklin city19.6+1.5 pts
20Scott County19.6+2 pts
20Tazewell County19.6+3.2 pts
23Sussex County19.5+0.6 pts
24Williamsburg city19.3+2.5 pts
25Wise County19.2-1.1 pts
26Lunenburg County18.7+2.2 pts
26Prince Edward County18.7-4.9 pts
28Bristol city18.4+1.2 pts
28Russell County18.4+2.2 pts
30Roanoke city17.9+2 pts
31Lynchburg city17.8+2.3 pts
32Grayson County17.6+1.4 pts
32Northampton County17.6+1.4 pts
32Portsmouth city17.6+2.3 pts
35Smyth County17.5+2.3 pts
36Covington city17.4+2.6 pts
37Henry County17+4.1 pts
38Charlotte County16.9-0.3 pts
38Norfolk city16.9-0.7 pts
38Richmond County16.9+0.9 pts
38Wythe County16.9+4.9 pts
42Buckingham County16.80 pts
43Accomack County16.2-1.4 pts
44Halifax County16-1.8 pts
45Newport News city15.8+1.3 pts
46Mecklenburg County15.7+0.3 pts
47Buena Vista city15.1+1.1 pts
47Westmoreland County15.1+2.2 pts
49Cumberland County14.8+1.3 pts
50Carroll County14.6+1.4 pts
51Bland County14.4+2.3 pts
52Patrick County14.3+0.1 pts
53Fredericksburg city14.2+2 pts
54King and Queen County14.1+3 pts
54Southampton County14.1+1.6 pts
56Pulaski County13.5+1 pts
57Page County13.4+2.1 pts
58Alleghany County13.3+1.6 pts
58Washington County13.3+0.1 pts
60Highland County13.1+0.9 pts
60Northumberland County13.1+0.8 pts
60Pittsylvania County13.1-0.9 pts
63Middlesex County13+1.4 pts
64Winchester city12.5-0.7 pts
65Amherst County12.4+1.2 pts
65Hampton city12.4-1 pts
65Nelson County12.4+1.7 pts
68Waynesboro city12.3+1 pts
69Surry County12.2+0.6 pts
70Floyd County12.1+1.2 pts
71Lancaster County12+1.7 pts
71Staunton city12-0.3 pts
73Dinwiddie County11.9+0.8 pts
74Giles County11.8+1.1 pts
75Appomattox County11.5-1.1 pts
75Craig County11.5+1.1 pts
75Essex County11.5-0.8 pts
78Charles City County11.4+1.5 pts
79Franklin County11.2-0.3 pts
80Bath County11.1-0.1 pts
81Campbell County10.9+2 pts
81Caroline County10.9+1.1 pts
83Suffolk city10.6+1.6 pts
84Salem city10.5+1.5 pts
85Prince George County10.4+2.2 pts
86Rockbridge County10.2-0.3 pts
87Louisa County10+2.1 pts
88Alexandria city9.9+1.9 pts
88Amelia County9.9+0.9 pts
90Shenandoah County9.8-0.3 pts
91Colonial Heights city9.4+0.7 pts
91Madison County9.40 pts
91Virginia Beach city9.4+1.3 pts
94Warren County9.2-0.9 pts
95Mathews County9.1+0.6 pts
95Rappahannock County9.1+0.2 pts
97Culpeper County8.9+0.4 pts
97Orange County8.9-0.5 pts
99Bedford County8.8+2 pts
100Manassas city8.6+0.7 pts
101Augusta County8.5+0.2 pts
102Gloucester County8.4+0.5 pts
103Chesapeake city8.3+0.7 pts
103Rockingham County8.30 pts
105Isle of Wight County8.2+0.6 pts
106Roanoke County8.1+2.1 pts
107Arlington County7.9+1.9 pts
108Greene County7.8-0.3 pts
109Fluvanna County7.7+0.9 pts
110Frederick County7.5+0.1 pts
111Chesterfield County7.4+0.8 pts
112Fairfax city7.3+0.1 pts
112Manassas Park city7.3+0.6 pts
114Clarke County7.2+1 pts
114Spotsylvania County7.2+0.6 pts
116Fairfax County7.1+1.8 pts
116King William County7.1+0.9 pts
118Albemarle County7+0.7 pts
118Botetourt County7+0.4 pts
118Henrico County7-1.3 pts
118James City County7+0.5 pts
122Hanover County6.7+1.7 pts
123Fauquier County6.5+0.5 pts
123King George County6.5+0.5 pts
125Prince William County6.4+1.5 pts
126Goochland County6.3+0.5 pts
127Powhatan County6+0.7 pts
128Poquoson city5.4+0.7 pts
128Stafford County5.40 pts
130York County5.1+0.4 pts
131New Kent County4.9+0.3 pts
132Falls Church city4+0.7 pts
133Loudoun County3.6+0.4 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/2021/2021-state-and-county/est21all.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 Virginia by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Virginia","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Virginia&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?

Radford city, with 25.6% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Loudoun County, with 3.6% in 2021.

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 Virginia: more rankings