Most American households earn more than $62,800 annually, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. While it is one of the most prosperous countries in the world, the U.S. also has some of the worst income inequality. As a result, the national median income does not reflect the economic struggles of millions of Americans.

In nearly every state, there are counties or county equivalents where the median household income is well below the $62,843 national median. In half of all states there is at least one county where the median annual household income is less than $40,000. Using five-year estimates from the 2019 American Community Survey from the Census, 24/7 Wall St. identified the poorest county in every state. 

While there are several notable exceptions, many of the counties on this list are relatively rural and far removed from major metropolitan areas that often serve as hubs of economic activity.

Virginia is a state characterized by income extremes. It is home to some of the wealthiest counties in the United States, especially Washington D.C.-neighboring counties. For example, Loudoun County’s median annual household income is $142,299, the highest of any U.S. county. The state is also some of the poorest places in the U.S. Virginia’s poorest county, Dickenson County, has a median annual household income of $29,932, more than $44,000 below the state median.

In Dickenson County, located all the way in the western part of the state and far from the nation’s capital, more than one in four of its roughly 15,000 residents earn incomes below the federal poverty level, compared to approximately one in 10 Virginians.

State	Poorest County	Largest Place in County	Median Household Income	State Median Household Income	Poverty Rate	State Poverty Rate	Adult Bachelor’s Attainment	State Adult Bachelor’s Attainment	Unemployment rate, Nov. 2020	State Unemployment Rate
Alabama	Sumter County	Livingston	$24,320	$50,536	31.8%	16.7%	21.6%	25.5%	4.1%	4.0%
Alaska	Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	Fort Yukon	$41,413	$77,640	25.4%	10.7%	13.6%	29.6%	9.9%	8.1%
Arizona	Apache County	Chinle	$32,508	$58,945	35.5%	15.1%	12.3%	29.5%	12.6%	7.6%
Arkansas	Lafayette County	Stamps	$32,397	$47,597	25.9%	17.0%	15.8%	23.0%	8.4%	5.7%
California	Trinity County	Weaverville	$40,846	$75,235	19.0%	13.4%	19.5%	33.9%	6.1%	7.9%
Colorado	Bent County	Las Animas	$30,900	$72,331	29.5%	10.3%	11.4%	40.9%	4.7%	6.2%
Connecticut	Windham County	Willimantic	$66,550	$78,444	11.4%	9.9%	24.3%	39.3%	7.3%	7.7%
Delaware	Kent County	Dover	$60,910	$68,287	13.5%	11.8%	23.7%	32.0%	5.0%	4.7%
Florida	DeSoto County	Arcadia	$35,438	$55,660	26.8%	14.0%	11.5%	29.9%	4.4%	6.3%
Georgia	Jenkins County	Millen	$27,375	$58,700	30.5%	15.1%	7.9%	31.3%	5.4%	5.4%
Hawaii	Hawaii County	Hilo	$62,409	$81,275	15.6%	9.4%	29.4%	33.0%	9.8%	10.1%
Idaho	Madison County	Rexburg	$39,160	$55,785	30.9%	13.1%	36.4%	27.6%	2.5%	4.8%
Illinois	Pulaski County	Mounds	$34,640	$65,886	20.5%	12.5%	12.5%	34.7%	7.9%	6.5%
Indiana	Crawford County	Marengo	$41,662	$56,303	17.9%	13.4%	10.3%	26.5%	5.2%	4.9%
Iowa	Appanoose County	Centerville	$40,167	$60,523	17.7%	11.5%	16.3%	28.6%	3.4%	3.1%
Kansas	Chautauqua County	Sedan	$40,298	$59,597	18.5%	12.0%	15.9%	33.4%	5.5%	5.3%
Kentucky	Bell County	Middlesborough	$26,272	$50,589	35.5%	17.3%	9.2%	24.2%	6.2%	5.1%
Louisiana	Claiborne Parish	Homer	$26,776	$49,469	33.6%	19.2%	12.8%	24.1%	6.3%	8.1%
Maine	Piscataquis County	Dover-Foxcroft	$40,890	$57,918	18.5%	11.8%	18.4%	31.8%	4.8%	4.7%
Maryland	Allegany County	Cumberland	$45,893	$84,805	16.5%	9.2%	18.9%	40.2%	6.6%	6.6%
Massachusetts	Hampden County	Springfield	$55,429	$81,215	16.4%	10.3%	27.1%	43.7%	7.5%	6.2%
Michigan	Lake County	Baldwin	$37,320	$57,144	21.0%	14.4%	11.9%	29.1%	6.6%	6.3%
Minnesota	Mahnomen County	Mahnomen	$44,688	$71,306	23.3%	9.7%	13.2%	36.1%	6.6%	3.9%
Mississippi	Leflore County	Greenwood	$26,735	$45,081	36.8%	20.3%	18.5%	22.0%	9.2%	6.0%
Missouri	Ozark County	Gainesville	$31,947	$55,461	29.6%	13.7%	11.0%	29.2%	4.7%	3.9%
Montana	Glacier County	Cut Bank	$36,045	$54,970	31.0%	13.1%	21.4%	32.0%	8.0%	4.3%
Nebraska	Dundy County	Benkelman	$41,716	$61,439	10.6%	11.1%	23.3%	31.9%	2.2%	2.7%
Nevada	Nye County	Pahrump	$47,300	$60,365	16.4%	13.1%	10.7%	24.7%	7.6%	9.9%
New Hampshire	Coos County	Berlin	$47,117	$76,768	12.5%	7.6%	18.2%	37.0%	4.4%	3.5%
New Jersey	Cumberland County	Vineland	$54,149	$82,545	16.5%	10.0%	15.6%	39.7%	11.2%	9.9%
New Mexico	Quay County	Tucumcari	$29,035	$49,754	20.4%	19.1%	17.1%	27.3%	7.1%	7.3%
New York	Bronx County	New York	$40,088	$68,486	28.0%	14.1%	20.1%	36.6%	16.0%	8.1%
North Carolina	Robeson County	Lumberton	$34,976	$54,602	27.7%	14.7%	13.7%	31.3%	8.3%	6.1%
North Dakota	Rolette County	Belcourt	$43,158	$64,894	27.1%	10.7%	19.6%	30.0%	10.5%	4.1%
Ohio	Adams County	West Union	$39,079	$56,602	20.7%	14.0%	13.2%	28.3%	6.2%	5.2%
Oklahoma	Choctaw County	Hugo	$34,489	$52,919	27.7%	15.7%	13.4%	25.5%	8.0%	5.8%
Oregon	Malheur County	Ontario	$43,313	$62,818	21.8%	13.2%	13.7%	33.7%	3.6%	5.5%
Pennsylvania	Forest County	Tionesta	$39,717	$61,744	18.1%	12.4%	8.1%	31.4%	7.2%	6.1%
Rhode Island	Providence County	Providence	$58,974	$67,167	15.2%	12.4%	29.0%	34.2%	7.6%	7.0%
South Carolina	Dillon County	Dillon	$30,812	$53,199	32.6%	15.2%	11.1%	28.1%	4.7%	4.1%
South Dakota	Corson County	McLaughlin	$35,759	$58,275	44.8%	13.1%	17.8%	28.8%	4.0%	3.3%
Tennessee	Jackson County	Gainesboro	$35,207	$53,320	19.2%	15.2%	11.0%	27.3%	5.6%	5.0%
Texas	Starr County	Rio Grande City	$30,387	$61,874	34.7%	14.7%	9.9%	29.9%	19.0%	8.0%
Utah	Wayne County	Loa	$44,245	$71,621	9.6%	9.8%	23.4%	34.0%	5.8%	3.9%
Vermont	Essex County	Island Pond	$44,349	$61,973	13.4%	10.9%	16.2%	38.0%	2.8%	2.8%
Virginia	Dickenson County	Clintwood	$29,932	$74,222	25.7%	10.6%	10.7%	38.8%	5.9%	4.6%
Washington	Ferry County	Republic	$41,939	$73,775	17.3%	10.8%	18.8%	36.0%	8.2%	5.9%
West Virginia	McDowell County	Welch	$27,682	$46,711	33.2%	17.6%	5.4%	20.6%	10.3%	5.7%
Wisconsin	Ashland County	Ashland	$42,510	$61,747	17.4%	11.3%	19.8%	30.1%	6.4%	4.5%
Wyoming	Albany County	Laramie	$49,322	$64,049	20.7%	11.0%	51.8%	27.4%	3.0%	4.9%