This Part of Rural America Is Poor

24/7 Wall St. Insights

While it doesn’t make #1 on our list based on annual income, nearly one-quarter of Athens County, Ohio residents (24.4%) are living in poverty.
The percentage of residents living under the poverty line is over 13.3% in all but three Ohioan counties that we covered.
In Adams County, Ohio, the median household income is the lowest on our list at $46,234, just $21 less than in Meigs County.
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Across the United States, children are eligible (depending on state and income) to receive free federally subsidized school lunches, a program shown to reduce food insecurity and insufficiency in communities in-need. In Ohio, children whose families made between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level received discounted meals, while those making at or below 130% of the federal poverty level were given free meals. The state is currently dealing with budgetary issues that mean that this program may not be able to move forward. While Ohio is paying the cost for students receiving discounted meals, financial strife could shift output. This can be challenging for a state like Ohio, where multiple counties live in poverty and 20% of children live in food-insecure homes. (Here is the poorest city in every U.S. state.)

The typical American household is earning more than ever before, with rapidly rising incomes supplementing upward mobility. According to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the national median household income was nearly $75,000 in 2022, up from about $69,700 in 2021. The 7.2% increase was the largest recorded year-over-year since at least the mid-1990s. Yet incomes have not been rising enough to combat inflation. Throughout 2022, the average rate of inflation hit a 40-year high of 8%, four times the Federal Reserve’s 2% target rate. Accounting for the rising cost of living, real incomes in the U.S. fell by nearly 5% between 2019 and 2022.

While no one has been spared from surging prices, Americans on the low end of the income spectrum have bore the brunt. During inflationary periods, higher-income Americans can cut back on spending and reduce the impact of rising costs. Meanwhile, lower earning Americans, who spend a larger share of their income on necessities such as food, housing, and gas, cannot. Ohio has a median household income of $66,990. But in many parts of the state, the typical household earns far less than the statewide median. (Here are the cheapest and most expensive housing markets in Ohio.)

Using five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey, which is the most recent available data at this time, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 35 poorest counties in Ohio. We ranked counties based on median household income. opulation, poverty, and unemployment data are also five-year estimates from the 2022 ACS.

Among the counties on this list, median household incomes are anywhere from about $6,900 to $27,800 below the statewide median. In many of these counties, levels of financial hardship are underscored by widespread poverty.

Here are the 35 poorest counties in Ohio:

Why We’re Covering the Poorest Counties in Ohio

Jackson, Ohio | File:Detailed map of Jackson, Ohio.png

If you’re looking to potentially move to (or within) Ohio, you need to know what each county’s financial situation looks like. Knowing each county’s poverty and unemployment rates, as well as the median household income, helps you to make a better and more informed decision. Ohio is also considered a key Midwest state on a more political and economic level, so understanding the “state” of Ohioan counties can give us a better idea of overall American economic health. But, and perhaps more importantly, analyzing the poorest counties in Ohio teaches us how different economies adjust and adapt when dealing with conflict.