Which U.S. states had the highest and lowest percentages of low-income residents in 2025?
Executive summary
The states with the highest measured poverty in recent 2024–2025 reporting are Louisiana (about 18.9% by one compilation) and Mississippi (about 17.3% by the same source); the states with the lowest reported poverty rates are in the high‑income Mountain/Pacific and Northeast regions such as New Hampshire, though exact “lowest” rankings vary by dataset (Visual Capitalist cites Louisiana 18.9%, Mississippi 17.3%) [1]. Official Census reports and federal poverty‑guideline documents provide the underlying thresholds and methodology but do not give a single, universally agreed 2025 “most/least” list in the supplied files [2] [3].
1. What the quick numbers say — two widely cited snapshots
Two recent public summaries show consistent concentration of high poverty in the Deep South: Visual Capitalist’s map lists Louisiana at 18.9% and Mississippi at 17.3% for poverty shares, with Arkansas also high at 15.8% [1]. A separate compilation by World Population Review highlights Louisiana with an elevated poverty figure (various excerpts showing double‑digit poverty rates and very high child poverty), reinforcing that Louisiana is among the states with the largest poverty shares in 2025 reporting [4].
2. Why “highest and lowest” depends on the measure
Different outlets use different measures — the Census Bureau official poverty rate, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), and program thresholds tied to Federal Poverty Guidelines — and these produce different rankings. The Census Bureau’s income reports and briefs for 2024/2025 underpin many of these rankings but come with multiple measures and adjustments, so a single definitive state ranking for 2025 requires choosing which measure to use [2] [5].
3. Federal poverty thresholds and the 2025 guidelines — the measurement backbone
The Department of Health and Human Services (ASPE) and HHS publish poverty guidelines and explain how the 2025 guidelines were derived (they adjust Census thresholds for price changes) and how programs use them; those guidelines and Census methodology are central to translating household income into “in poverty” status [3] [6]. The Federal Poverty Level itself—used by many programs—is fixed by household size and state group (Alaska/Hawaii higher), for example an individual FPL in the contiguous states was cited around $15,650 in 2025 summaries [7].
4. Regional patterns and drivers — what explains the gaps
Sources point to structural regional differences: states with historically lower median household income, lower educational attainment and less diversified economies—particularly Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas—show the highest proportions in poverty in recent tabulations [1] [4]. Visual Capitalist emphasizes Louisiana’s near‑one‑in‑five poverty share despite natural‑resource sectors, while World Population Review cites low median household income and weak educational attainment as contextual drivers [1] [4].
5. Who appears at the bottom of the poverty list — and the caveats
The supplied sources do not offer a single authoritative “lowest”‑poverty state for 2025 in the excerpts, though rankings from outlets such as U.S. News typically show New England and some Mountain states with the lowest rates; the Census Bureau products are the primary source to confirm exact orderings (available sources do not mention a definitive lowest state in the provided excerpts; see [9]; p1_s5). Visual Capitalist’s map focuses on high‑poverty states and does not single out a definitive lowest in the snippets provided [1].
6. Conflicting figures and how to reconcile them
Different publications cite slightly different percentages (for instance World Population Review’s Louisiana figures vary across its snippets), reflecting source updates, choice of year (2023 vs. 2024 data), and whether they use ACS, CPS ASEC, or SPM adjustments [4] [2] [5]. To reconcile, consult the Census Bureau’s “Income in the United States: 2024” and the state poverty brief “Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2024” for the official tables that underpin media summaries [2] [8].
7. What this means for policy and readers
High poverty shares in a handful of states concentrate need for anti‑poverty interventions, but measures differ: program eligibility often uses Federal Poverty Guidelines (the 2025 guidelines are publicly documented by ASPE), while policymakers may prefer SPM or other adjusted measures to capture benefits and costs of living differences [3] [6]. Reporters and decision‑makers must be explicit which measure they cite; the supplied sources show why a single headline ranking can be misleading without methodological context [3] [2].
Limitations: This analysis uses only the supplied search results; exact “highest/lowest” 2025 rankings require consulting the full Census tables and complete state‑by‑state tables in the cited reports [2] [8].