National ranking · Top 100 · data updated August 2026

Top 100 Poorest Cities in America by Poverty Rate

This list ranks the 100 large US cities with the highest poverty rates, using U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023), Table S1701. “Poorest” here means the share of residents below the federal poverty line, not household income, wealth, or cost of living. A population floor of 50,000 keeps very small-place estimates from dominating the comparison.

Compiled by PlainCities

100
Cities ranked: #1
Mayagüez zona urbana: 47.3%
Poverty Rate

Data updated August 2026

The headline finding

Mayagüez zona urbana, PR tops this list at 47.3% poverty rate, making the top 100 requires at least 16.1%.

Mayagüez zona urbana, PR
#1 · 47.3%: 16.1%
#100 cutoff: 100
cities in this ranking

Every figure here is read live from the same U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023) data rendered in the table below.

A note on this ranking: Poverty rate is an American Community Survey estimate of the share of residents below the federal poverty line. It is not a ranking of household wealth, local prices, or overall quality of life, and estimates can carry sampling uncertainty.

These 100 cities span 27 states. Ohio has the most entries on this list: 9 (9% of the total). Ohio state page.

How we calculate the state breakdown

The state count and leader above are a live tally of this list's own 100 rows, grouped by state. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.

Mayagüez zona urbana, PR

47.3
Ponce zona urbana, PR

47.1
Caguas zona urbana, PR

38.4
San Juan zona urbana, PR

35.4
Youngstown, OH

30.9
Bayamón zona urbana, PR

30.3
Gary, IN

29
Pharr, TX

27.8
Harrisburg, PA

27.5
Port Arthur, TX

27.2
Detroit, MI

26.9
Flint, MI

26.9

What this shows Mayagüez zona urbana, Puerto Rico ranks #1 on poverty rate among the cities in this ranking; the full top 100 is listed below.

Ohio (OH)

9
Texas (TX)

9
New Jersey (NJ)

9
Puerto Rico (PR)

7
Pennsylvania (PA)

7
Michigan (MI)

6
New York (NY)

6
California (CA)

6
Indiana (IN)

5
Georgia (GA)

4

What this shows Ohio leads with 9 of the 100 spots on this list.

#	City	Poverty Rate	Population
1	Mayagüez zona urbanaPuerto Rico	47.3%	59,427
2	Ponce zona urbanaPuerto Rico	47.1%	109,765
3	Caguas zona urbanaPuerto Rico	38.4%	72,862
4	San Juan zona urbanaPuerto Rico	35.4%	320,691
5	YoungstownOhio	30.9%	59,605
6	Bayamón zona urbanaPuerto Rico	30.3%	167,312
7	GaryIndiana	29.0%	68,604
8	PharrTexas	27.8%	79,809
9	HarrisburgPennsylvania	27.5%	50,092
10	Port ArthurTexas	27.2%	55,779
11	DetroitMichigan	26.9%	636,644
12	FlintMichigan	26.9%	80,835
13	Carolina zona urbanaPuerto Rico	25.7%	139,051
14	CamdenNew Jersey	25.6%	71,471
15	New BrunswickNew Jersey	25.4%	55,744
16	LakewoodNew Jersey	25.3%	69,884
17	ClevelandOhio	25.2%	367,523
18	SyracuseNew York	24.2%	146,211
19	AlbanyGeorgia	24.2%	67,939
20	CantonOhio	23.6%	70,105
21	ReadingPennsylvania	23.1%	94,836
22	UticaNew York	22.9%	64,440
23	RochesterNew York	22.5%	209,720
24	BrownsvilleTexas	22.5%	188,023
25	EdinburgTexas	22.4%	102,561
26	BuffaloNew York	22.3%	276,397
27	PassaicNew Jersey	22.0%	69,651
28	MaderaCalifornia	21.7%	67,133
29	HartfordConnecticut	21.4%	119,970
30	NewarkNew Jersey	21.0%	307,188
31	LorainOhio	21.0%	65,207
32	PatersonNew Jersey	20.9%	157,660
33	JacksonMississippi	20.9%	149,827
34	DaytonOhio	20.9%	136,741
35	TrentonNew Jersey	20.7%	89,966
36	KissimmeeFlorida	20.6%	79,504
37	WaterburyConnecticut	20.3%	114,356
38	GulfportMississippi	20.2%	72,533
39	HarlingenTexas	19.9%	71,669
40	ValdostaGeorgia	19.9%	55,222
41	EriePennsylvania	19.6%	94,156
42	JacksonTennessee	19.6%	68,098
43	PontiacMichigan	19.6%	61,914
44	BirminghamAlabama	19.4%	199,322
45	DearbornMichigan	19.4%	107,846
46	SchenectadyNew York	19.3%	68,521
47	TroyNew York	19.2%	51,054
48	ToledoOhio	19.1%	268,461
49	SpringfieldMassachusetts	19.0%	154,751
50	Macon-Bibb CountyGeorgia	18.9%	156,543
51	Fall RiverMassachusetts	18.8%	93,764
52	WilmingtonDelaware	18.7%	71,124
53	MilwaukeeWisconsin	18.6%	569,756
54	Baton RougeLouisiana	18.6%	223,699
55	MercedCalifornia	18.6%	89,766
56	Terre HauteIndiana	18.6%	58,491
57	ScrantonPennsylvania	18.5%	76,074
58	CincinnatiOhio	18.4%	309,595
59	LaredoTexas	18.4%	255,949
60	ShreveportLouisiana	18.4%	183,483
61	BridgeportConnecticut	18.3%	148,012
62	New HavenConnecticut	18.3%	132,893
63	Perth AmboyNew Jersey	18.1%	55,278
64	MemphisTennessee	17.9%	629,063
65	McAllenTexas	17.8%	143,789
66	Florence-GrahamCalifornia	17.8%	61,723
67	MontgomeryAlabama	17.7%	198,440
68	LancasterPennsylvania	17.7%	57,683
69	Augusta-Richmond CountyGeorgia	17.6%	201,504
70	Sunrise ManorNevada	17.6%	199,099
71	AkronOhio	17.6%	189,526
72	PhiladelphiaPennsylvania	17.5%	1,582,432
73	MuncieIndiana	17.5%	64,739
74	AllentownPennsylvania	17.3%	125,320
75	Guaynabo zona urbanaPuerto Rico	17.3%	70,087
76	SpringfieldOhio	17.3%	58,410
77	Bowling GreenKentucky	17.2%	73,638
78	KalamazooMichigan	17.2%	73,132
79	North Little RockArkansas	17.2%	64,504
80	Las CrucesNew Mexico	17.1%	112,612
81	South BendIndiana	17.0%	102,866
82	LauderhillFlorida	17.0%	73,961
83	RockfordIllinois	16.7%	147,649
84	New BedfordMassachusetts	16.7%	100,731
85	Rocky MountNorth Carolina	16.7%	54,175
86	Union CityNew Jersey	16.6%	66,375
87	DundalkMaryland	16.6%	65,441
88	KingsportTennessee	16.6%	55,807
89	BryanTexas	16.5%	86,169
90	VictorvilleCalifornia	16.4%	135,983
91	Dearborn HeightsMichigan	16.4%	62,099
92	OwensboroKentucky	16.4%	60,112
93	FresnoCalifornia	16.3%	543,615
94	New OrleansLouisiana	16.3%	376,035
95	Pine HillsFlorida	16.3%	82,264
96	Lake CharlesLouisiana	16.2%	81,679
97	ElkhartIndiana	16.2%	53,726
98	HoustonTexas	16.1%	2,300,419
99	El CajonCalifornia	16.1%	104,909
100	LawtonOklahoma	16.1%	90,662

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2023 vintage, released December 2024), the underlying dataset behind this ranking spans 28,702 U.S. incorporated places and census-designated places nationally; this page shows the top 100 by poverty rate. See our methodology for the full data-collection process.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023), Table S1701. Verify directly with the source agency: U.S. Census Bureau, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES.

Questions about the poorest cities in america by poverty rate list

What does this poorest cities in america by poverty rate ranking measure?

It orders cities by poverty rate using U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023), Table S1701. It is a single-metric comparison, not an overall score for quality of life or a recommendation about where to live.

Are metropolitan areas included?

The rows are individual cities or Census-defined places covered by the named source, not combined metropolitan areas. The page states any extra coverage or population rule that applies to this specific poverty rate ranking.

Can I download and verify the ranking?

Yes. The CSV above contains the same ranked rows shown in the table. The page names the source and vintage, links to the source agency, and explains category-specific caveats before the data.

What to do with the poorest cities in america by poverty rate list

Use this ranking to narrow the field, then dig into the specific places you're considering.

Mayagüez zona urbana, PR leads this list at 47.3% -- see its full profile before drawing conclusions from the rank alone. Mayagüez zona urbana profile
Put two specific cities side by side across every tracked metric, not just this one ranking. Compare cities
See every ranked city in Puerto Rico together, not just how Mayagüez zona urbana compares nationally. Puerto Rico state page

Poverty rate is an American Community Survey estimate of the share of residents below the federal poverty line. It is not a ranking of household wealth, local prices, or overall quality of life, and estimates can carry sampling uncertainty.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.

Browse all city profiles → | Explore city rankings →

Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Top 100 Poorest Cities in America by Poverty Rate

Top 12 cities by poverty rate

Which states show up most

Questions about the poorest cities in america by poverty rate list

Related