Metro areas by poverty rate U.S. 2021

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area in Texas was ranked first with 29.3 percent of its population living below the poverty level in 2021. Valdosta, Georgia had the second highest poverty rate, at 27.6 percent.

Leading metropolitan areas with the highest poverty rate in the United States in 2021

Characteristic	Poverty rate
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area	29.3%
Valdosta, GA Metro Area	27.6%
Monroe, LA Metro Area	27.2%
Farmington, NM Metro Area	26.7%
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Metro Area	24.7%
Merced, CA Metro Area	23.5%
College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Area	23.4%
Beckley, WV Metro Area	22.7%
Greenville, NC Metro Area	22.5%
Laredo, TX Metro Area	22.4%
Blacksburg-Christiansburg, VA Metro Area	22.3%
Brunswick, GA Metro Area	21.8%
Madera, CA Metro Area	21.8%
Saginaw, MI Metro Area	21.8%
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metro Area	21.4%
Jonesboro, AR Metro Area	21%
Danville, IL Metro Area	20.9%
Macon-Bibb County, GA Metro Area	20.8%
Odessa, TX Metro Area	20.8%
Bloomington, IN Metro Area	20.7%
Sumter, SC Metro Area	20.3%
El Paso, TX Metro Area	20.1%
Lawton, OK Metro Area	20.1%
Alexandria, LA Metro Area	19.9%
Goldsboro, NC Metro Area	19.9%
Anniston-Oxford, AL Metro Area	19.8%
Fort Smith, AR-OK Metro Area	19.6%
Lafayette, LA Metro Area	19.6%
Columbus, GA-AL Metro Area	19.5%
Dothan, AL Metro Area	19.5%
Fresno, CA Metro Area	19.5%
Morristown, TN Metro Area	19.5%
Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area	19.4%
Corvallis, OR Metro Area	19.4%
Las Cruces, NM Metro Area	19.4%
Florence, SC Metro Area	19.3%
Hinesville, GA Metro Area	19.3%
Gainesville, FL Metro Area	19%
Albany, GA Metro Area	18.7%
Jackson, MS Metro Area	18.7%
Lake Charles, LA Metro Area	18.7%
Bakersfield, CA Metro Area	18.6%
Visalia, CA Metro Area	18.6%
Lewiston, ID-WA Metro Area	18.5%
New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area	18.4%
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ Metro Area	18.2%
Abilene, TX Metro Area	18.1%
Muncie, IN Metro Area	18.1%
Texarkana, TX-AR Metro Area	18.1%
Terre Haute, IN Metro Area	18%