(January 2008) While many people think of poverty in the United States as primarily an urban problem, data released by the Census Bureau this week indicate that most of the counties with high child poverty rates are located in rural America.1 Of the 100 counties with the highest child poverty rates in 2005, 95 are rural counties (see table). All 100 counties have child poverty rates above 40 percent, more than twice the national rate of 18.5 percent in 2005.
Many of the counties with high rates of child poverty are relatively remote and sparsely populated. Among rural counties, the lower the population density, the higher the child poverty rate is likely to be. The child poverty rate for the most remote rural counties collectively (28 percent) is 11 percentage points higher than the rate in the most urban counties. More than half of the 100 counties with the highest child poverty rates have populations of fewer than 20,000 people.
There is also a strong racial overlay. Of the 100 counties with the highest child poverty rates, two-thirds (66) are “majority minority,” or less than 50 percent non-Hispanic white. And many others have disproportionately high minority populations. On average, minorities make up 70 percent of the population in these 100 counties.
Nearly three-fourths (74) of these counties are in the South-almost all in the rural South. Mississippi had the greatest number of counties with high child poverty rates: 17. Almost all are black-majority counties in the Mississippi Delta.
In the Midwest and West, counties with high child poverty tend to have large American Indian populations. Nine of the highest child poverty rates are in South Dakota, for example, which is home to many Indian reservations.
None of the counties with the highest child poverty rates were located in the Northeast.
The 100 counties with the lowest child poverty rates are mostly located in the wealthy suburbs of large metropolitan areas. Rural counties with the lowest child poverty rates tend to be recreational and/or retirement destinations with high levels of natural amenities such as mountains, lakes, or other attractions.
100 U.S. Counties with Highest Child Poverty Rates, 2005
Rank
|
County
|
State
|
Number of Children in Poverty
|
Child Poverty Rate
|
Metropolitan Status
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
Ziebach County
|
South Dakota
|
636
|
70.1
|
Non-Metro
|
2
|
Owsley County
|
Kentucky
|
630
|
61.9
|
Non-Metro
|
3
|
East Carroll Parish
|
Louisiana
|
1,464
|
60.0
|
Non-Metro
|
4
|
Holmes County
|
Mississippi
|
3,727
|
59.5
|
Non-Metro
|
5
|
Todd County
|
South Dakota
|
2,307
|
58.7
|
Non-Metro
|
6
|
Martin County
|
Kentucky
|
1,750
|
58.1
|
Non-Metro
|
7
|
Corson County
|
South Dakota
|
851
|
57.8
|
Non-Metro
|
8
|
Alexander County
|
Illinois
|
1,269
|
57.2
|
Non-Metro
|
9
|
Issaquena County
|
Mississippi
|
236
|
56.3
|
Non-Metro
|
10
|
Starr County
|
Texas
|
12,264
|
55.5
|
Non-Metro
|
11
|
Coahoma County
|
Mississippi
|
4,937
|
54.7
|
Non-Metro
|
11
|
McDowell County
|
West Virginia
|
2,769
|
54.7
|
Non-Metro
|
13
|
Humphreys County
|
Mississippi
|
1,725
|
54.5
|
Non-Metro
|
14
|
Hancock County
|
Tennessee
|
718
|
54.4
|
Non-Metro
|
15
|
Sharkey County
|
Mississippi
|
939
|
54.2
|
Non-Metro
|
16
|
McCreary County
|
Kentucky
|
2,245
|
53.6
|
Non-Metro
|
17
|
Bolivar County
|
Mississippi
|
5,474
|
53.1
|
Non-Metro
|
18
|
Cameron County
|
Texas
|
66,043
|
52.3
|
Metro
|
19
|
Willacy County
|
Texas
|
3,220
|
52.1
|
Non-Metro
|
20
|
Tensas Parish
|
Louisiana
|
757
|
51.7
|
Non-Metro
|
21
|
Apache County
|
Arizona
|
12,314
|
51.4
|
Non-Metro
|
22
|
Hidalgo County
|
Texas
|
121,174
|
51.3
|
Metro
|
22
|
Madison Parish
|
Louisiana
|
1,759
|
51.3
|
Non-Metro
|
22
|
Mellette County
|
South Dakota
|
336
|
51.3
|
Non-Metro
|
25
|
Wolfe County
|
Kentucky
|
875
|
51.2
|
Non-Metro
|
26
|
Lee County
|
Arkansas
|
1,327
|
50.9
|
Non-Metro
|
26
|
Saguache County
|
Colorado
|
919
|
50.9
|
Non-Metro
|
28
|
Leflore County
|
Mississippi
|
5,114
|
50.8
|
Non-Metro
|
29
|
Clay County
|
Kentucky
|
2,668
|
50.1
|
Non-Metro
|
29
|
Sioux County
|
North Dakota
|
737
|
50.1
|
Non-Metro
|
31
|
Clay County
|
Georgia
|
392
|
49.9
|
Non-Metro
|
32
|
Red River Parish
|
Louisiana
|
1,264
|
49.8
|
Non-Metro
|
33
|
Zavala County
|
Texas
|
1,841
|
49.5
|
Non-Metro
|
34
|
Brooks County
|
Texas
|
1,120
|
49.3
|
Non-Metro
|
34
|
Sunflower County
|
Mississippi
|
4,011
|
49.3
|
Non-Metro
|
36
|
Dallas County
|
Alabama
|
5,908
|
49.1
|
Non-Metro
|
37
|
Wilcox County
|
Alabama
|
1,835
|
48.8
|
Non-Metro
|
38
|
Concordia Parish
|
Louisiana
|
2,285
|
48.7
|
Non-Metro
|
38
|
Zapata County
|
Texas
|
2,115
|
48.7
|
Non-Metro
|
40
|
Allendale County
|
South Carolina
|
1,354
|
48.6
|
Non-Metro
|
41
|
Lawrence County
|
Kentucky
|
1,730
|
48.2
|
Non-Metro
|
42
|
Phillips County
|
Arkansas
|
3,506
|
47.7
|
Non-Metro
|
43
|
Luna County
|
New Mexico
|
3,360
|
47.4
|
Non-Metro
|
44
|
Bennett County
|
South Dakota
|
544
|
47.2
|
Non-Metro
|
45
|
Robeson County
|
North Carolina
|
16,786
|
47.0
|
Non-Metro
|
45
|
Washington County
|
Mississippi
|
8,165
|
47.0
|
Non-Metro
|
47
|
Chicot County
|
Arkansas
|
1,483
|
46.8
|
Non-Metro
|
47
|
Shannon County
|
South Dakota
|
2,564
|
46.8
|
Non-Metro
|
47
|
Yazoo County
|
Mississippi
|
3,424
|
46.8
|
Non-Metro
|
50
|
Hudspeth County
|
Texas
|
472
|
46.7
|
Non-Metro
|
50
|
Shannon County
|
Missouri
|
884
|
46.7
|
Non-Metro
|
52
|
Jefferson Davis County
|
Mississippi
|
1,527
|
46.6
|
Non-Metro
|
52
|
Quitman County
|
Mississippi
|
1,284
|
46.6
|
Non-Metro
|
54
|
Bell County
|
Kentucky
|
3,097
|
46.5
|
Non-Metro
|
54
|
Breathitt County
|
Kentucky
|
1,624
|
46.5
|
Non-Metro
|
56
|
Tallahatchie County
|
Mississippi
|
1,796
|
46.4
|
Non-Metro
|
57
|
Magoffin County
|
Kentucky
|
1,493
|
46.3
|
Non-Metro
|
57
|
Perry County
|
Alabama
|
1,483
|
46.3
|
Non-Metro
|
59
|
Lee County
|
Kentucky
|
714
|
46.2
|
Non-Metro
|
60
|
Bullock County
|
Alabama
|
1,189
|
46.1
|
Non-Metro
|
60
|
Franklin Parish
|
Louisiana
|
2,381
|
46.1
|
Non-Metro
|
60
|
Jackson County
|
South Dakota
|
412
|
46.1
|
Non-Metro
|
63
|
Knox County
|
Kentucky
|
3,610
|
45.9
|
Non-Metro
|
64
|
Socorro County
|
New Mexico
|
1,942
|
45.4
|
Non-Metro
|
65
|
Catron County
|
New Mexico
|
245
|
45.3
|
Non-Metro
|
65
|
Sumter County
|
Alabama
|
1,637
|
45.3
|
Non-Metro
|
|