U.S. State Rankings by Census Data
Compare all 50 states by poverty rate, median income, population, education, and health coverage. Click any column header to sort. Click a state to explore its full census profile and congressional voting records.
| # | State | Population | Median Income | Poverty Rate | Education (BA+) | Uninsured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | 2,951,438 | $54,915 | 19.1% | 24.2% | 11.6% |
| 2 | Louisiana | 4,621,025 | $60,023 | 18.9% | 26.6% | 8.1% |
| 3 | New Mexico | 2,114,768 | $62,125 | 18.1% | 30.2% | 9.5% |
| 4 | West Virginia | 1,784,462 | $57,917 | 16.6% | 23.3% | 6.2% |
| 5 | Kentucky | 4,510,725 | $62,417 | 16.1% | 27.0% | 5.9% |
| 6 | Arkansas | 3,032,651 | $58,773 | 16.0% | 25.1% | 9.0% |
| 7 | Alabama | 5,054,253 | $62,027 | 15.6% | 27.8% | 9.4% |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 3,995,260 | $63,603 | 15.3% | 27.8% | 13.4% |
| 9 | District of Columbia | 672,079 | $106,287 | 14.5% | 63.6% | 3.4% |
| 10 | South Carolina | 5,212,774 | $66,818 | 14.2% | 31.5% | 10.0% |
| 11 | Tennessee | 6,986,082 | $67,097 | 13.8% | 30.4% | 10.1% |
| 12 | Texas | 29,640,343 | $76,292 | 13.8% | 33.1% | 17.4% |
| 13 | New York | 19,872,319 | $84,578 | 13.7% | 39.6% | 5.1% |
| 14 | Georgia | 10,822,590 | $74,664 | 13.5% | 34.2% | 12.6% |
| 15 | Ohio | 11,780,046 | $69,680 | 13.2% | 30.9% | 6.4% |
| 16 | North Carolina | 10,584,340 | $69,904 | 13.2% | 34.7% | 10.4% |
| 17 | Michigan | 10,051,595 | $71,149 | 13.1% | 31.8% | 5.0% |
| 18 | Arizona | 7,268,175 | $76,872 | 12.8% | 32.6% | 10.6% |
| 19 | Florida | 21,928,881 | $71,711 | 12.6% | 33.2% | 11.9% |
| 20 | Missouri | 6,168,181 | $68,920 | 12.6% | 31.9% | 9.2% |
| 21 | Nevada | 3,141,000 | $75,561 | 12.6% | 27.4% | 11.3% |
| 22 | Indiana | 6,811,752 | $70,051 | 12.2% | 28.8% | 7.6% |
| 23 | South Dakota | 899,194 | $72,421 | 12.0% | 31.1% | 9.3% |
| 24 | California | 39,242,785 | $96,334 | 12.0% | 36.5% | 6.9% |
| 25 | Montana | 1,105,072 | $69,922 | 12.0% | 34.5% | 8.4% |
| 26 | Oregon | 4,238,714 | $80,426 | 11.9% | 36.2% | 6.2% |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | 12,986,518 | $76,081 | 11.8% | 34.5% | 5.6% |
| 28 | Illinois | 12,692,653 | $81,702 | 11.7% | 37.2% | 7.0% |
| 29 | Kansas | 2,937,569 | $72,639 | 11.5% | 35.2% | 8.9% |
| 30 | Iowa | 3,195,937 | $73,147 | 11.0% | 30.9% | 4.9% |
| 31 | Rhode Island | 1,095,371 | $86,372 | 10.9% | 37.3% | 4.3% |
| 32 | Maine | 1,377,400 | $71,773 | 10.8% | 35.3% | 6.6% |
| 33 | Wyoming | 579,761 | $74,815 | 10.7% | 29.9% | 11.6% |
| 34 | Delaware | 1,005,872 | $82,855 | 10.7% | 35.3% | 6.2% |
| 35 | Idaho | 1,893,296 | $74,636 | 10.6% | 31.2% | 9.3% |
| 36 | North Dakota | 779,361 | $75,949 | 10.6% | 32.3% | 6.7% |
| 37 | Wisconsin | 5,892,023 | $75,670 | 10.6% | 32.8% | 5.3% |
| 38 | Nebraska | 1,965,926 | $74,985 | 10.3% | 34.1% | 7.4% |
| 39 | Vermont | 645,254 | $78,024 | 10.3% | 42.6% | 3.9% |
| 40 | Alaska | 733,971 | $89,336 | 10.2% | 31.2% | 11.2% |
| 41 | Massachusetts | 6,992,395 | $101,341 | 10.0% | 46.6% | 2.6% |
| 42 | Connecticut | 3,598,348 | $93,760 | 10.0% | 41.9% | 5.3% |
| 43 | Hawaii | 1,445,635 | $98,317 | 10.0% | 35.5% | 3.7% |
| 44 | Washington | 7,740,984 | $94,952 | 9.9% | 38.8% | 6.4% |
| 45 | Virginia | 8,657,499 | $90,974 | 9.9% | 41.5% | 7.1% |
| 46 | New Jersey | 9,267,014 | $101,050 | 9.8% | 42.9% | 7.4% |
| 47 | Colorado | 5,810,774 | $92,470 | 9.4% | 44.7% | 7.7% |
| 48 | Maryland | 6,170,738 | $101,652 | 9.3% | 42.7% | 6.2% |
| 49 | Minnesota | 5,713,716 | $87,556 | 9.2% | 38.8% | 4.6% |
| 50 | Utah | 3,331,187 | $91,750 | 8.6% | 36.9% | 8.7% |
| 51 | New Hampshire | 1,387,834 | $95,628 | 7.2% | 39.8% | 5.5% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which state has the highest poverty rate?
Use the sortable table above to see all 50 states ranked by poverty rate. Data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Click the "Poverty Rate" column header to sort highest-to-lowest or lowest-to-highest.
Which state has the highest median income?
Sort the table by Median Income (descending) to see which states lead. Median household income varies significantly by state due to cost of living, industry mix, and economic policy. Click any state name to see how its representatives vote on issues that affect these numbers.
Where does this data come from?
All data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates — the same source used by federal agencies and researchers. What The Vote pairs this data with congressional voting records so you can see how your representatives respond to these realities.
How often is this data updated?
Census ACS 5-Year Estimates are released annually, typically in December. We update our data when new estimates become available. The "5-Year" window provides more reliable estimates than single-year data, especially for smaller states.
Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. See the full census profile for any state by clicking its name, or explore your representatives and how they vote.