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

Counties in Washington by poverty rate

Whitman County had the highest poverty rate of 39 counties in 2019, at 26.3%. Snohomish County had the lowest, at 7%. The median was 12.6% and the figure for Washington was 9.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest26.3Whitman County
Lowest7Snohomish County
Median12.639 counties
Washington9.8History

All counties, 2019

CSVChart (SVG)

Whitman CountyWhitman County: 26.3 %26.3Ferry CountyFerry County: 18 %18Adams CountyAdams County: 16.8 %16.8Yakima CountyYakima County: 16.7 %16.7Okanogan CountyOkanogan County: 16.4 %16.4Pend Oreille CountyPend Oreille County: 16.1 %16.1Stevens CountyStevens County: 14.9 %14.9Kittitas CountyKittitas County: 14 %14Grant CountyGrant County: 13.9 %13.9Asotin CountyAsotin County: 13.8 %13.8Franklin CountyFranklin County: 13.5 %13.5Klickitat CountyKlickitat County: 13.5 %13.5Pacific CountyPacific County: 13.5 %13.5Grays Harbor CountyGrays Harbor County: 13.1 %13.1Garfield CountyGarfield County: 12.9 %12.9Spokane CountySpokane County: 12.9 %12.9Mason CountyMason County: 12.8 %12.8Walla Walla CountyWalla Walla County: 12.7 %12.7Whatcom CountyWhatcom County: 12.7 %12.7Cowlitz CountyCowlitz County: 12.6 %12.6Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 12.6 %12.6Columbia CountyColumbia County: 12.3 %12.3Chelan CountyChelan County: 12.2 %12.2Lewis CountyLewis County: 12.2 %12.2Clallam CountyClallam County: 11.2 %11.2Skagit CountySkagit County: 11.2 %11.2Douglas CountyDouglas County: 10.9 %10.9Wahkiakum CountyWahkiakum County: 10.8 %10.8Benton CountyBenton County: 10.6 %10.6Skamania CountySkamania County: 10.4 %10.4Pierce CountyPierce County: 9.4 %9.4Clark CountyClark County: 9.2 %9.2Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 9.1 %9.1Thurston CountyThurston County: 9.1 %9.1San Juan CountySan Juan County: 8.1 %8.1King CountyKing County: 7.7 %7.7Kitsap CountyKitsap County: 7.5 %7.5Island CountyIsland County: 7.3 %7.3Snohomish CountySnohomish County: 7 %7
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Whitman County26.3+0.9 pts
2Ferry County18+0.2 pts
3Adams County16.8+1.2 pts
4Yakima County16.7+0.2 pts
5Okanogan County16.4-0.6 pts
6Pend Oreille County16.1+1.1 pts
7Stevens County14.9+1.4 pts
8Kittitas County14-1.8 pts
9Grant County13.9+1.2 pts
10Asotin County13.8-0.2 pts
11Franklin County13.5+0.1 pts
11Klickitat County13.5+0.8 pts
11Pacific County13.5-1.9 pts
14Grays Harbor County13.1-4.2 pts
15Garfield County12.9-0.9 pts
15Spokane County12.9-0.1 pts
17Mason County12.8-0.9 pts
18Walla Walla County12.7-0.6 pts
18Whatcom County12.7-2.2 pts
20Cowlitz County12.6+0.4 pts
20Jefferson County12.6-0.1 pts
22Columbia County12.3-1 pts
23Chelan County12.2+1.3 pts
23Lewis County12.2-0.3 pts
25Clallam County11.2-2.1 pts
25Skagit County11.2+1.5 pts
27Douglas County10.9+0.5 pts
28Wahkiakum County10.8-0.1 pts
29Benton County10.6+0.8 pts
30Skamania County10.4-1.3 pts
31Pierce County9.4+0.7 pts
32Clark County9.2+0.4 pts
33Lincoln County9.1-3.4 pts
33Thurston County9.1+0.4 pts
35San Juan County8.1-2.1 pts
36King County7.7-1.5 pts
37Kitsap County7.5-1.6 pts
38Island County7.3-0.2 pts
39Snohomish County7-0.5 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 Washington by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Whitman County, with 26.3% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Snohomish County, with 7% 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 Washington: more rankings