Which ZIP code is the poorest in the USA?
On TitleMax’s ranking of US Census income data, the poorest ZIP code in the USA was 16501 in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania, with a median household income of just $10,873 and a mean of $14,780 in 2017 dollars. TitleMax only counted ZIP code areas with at least 1,000 households, so tiny places do not distort the list [1]. Erie 16501 was lowest on both measures, and Wikipedia’s article on Erie notes the area is considered one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country [4].
The answer changes with the year of data and with how small an area you allow. Neilsberg Research, using the newer 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, splits ZIP codes by size [5]:
- Large ZIP codes (20,000 or more residents): 10454 in the South Bronx, New York, has the lowest median household income, at $24,086.
- Mid-size ZIP codes (10,000 to 19,999 residents): 37916 in Knoxville, Tennessee, is lowest at $14,925. The same ZIP code was already in TitleMax’s bottom 15 by mean income.
- Small ZIP codes (2,500 to 9,999 residents): 53706 in Madison, Wisconsin, is lowest at $6,053. That ZIP code covers the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus [9], so its “households” are mostly students, which shows why raw ZIP code rankings need care.
For comparison, Neilsberg puts the US median household income at $80,734 [5].
The poorest ZIP codes in America
TitleMax ranked the 15 poorest ZIP codes in the country by median household income. The bottom five were [1]:
| Rank | Place | ZIP code | Median household income (2017 dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erie, Pennsylvania | 16501 | $10,873 |
| 2 | Sacaton, Arizona | 85147 | $11,813 |
| 3 | Waterbury, Connecticut | 06702 | $12,036 |
| 4 | Los Angeles, California | 90021 | $12,864 |
| 5 | El Paso, Texas | 79901 | $13,087 |
The rest of the bottom 15 are Chattanooga, Toledo, Cincinnati (45225), Livingston in Alabama, Cleveland (44115), Memphis, Cincinnati (45203), Stockton, Cleveland (44104) and Johnstown, Pennsylvania [1]. Ohio stands out, with five of the 15. Most of these are inner-city ZIP codes in former industrial cities, alongside a few rural areas: Sacaton is on the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, and Livingston is in Alabama’s Black Belt.
Median and mean income can tell different stories. In Los Angeles 90021, a small downtown ZIP code, the median was $12,864 but the mean was $47,393, so a small number of higher-income households raise the average a long way. In Erie 16501 the two were much closer, which means low incomes there were widespread [1].
The poorest ZIP code in each state
TitleMax also picked the lowest-income ZIP code in every state, which shows how much “poorest” varies across the country. A selection [1]:
| State | Poorest ZIP code | Median household income (2017 dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 16501 Erie | $10,873 |
| California | 90021 Los Angeles | $12,864 |
| Texas | 79901 El Paso | $13,087 |
| Michigan | 48201 Detroit | $14,909 |
| New York | 13202 Syracuse | $15,000 |
| Illinois | 62201 East St. Louis | $15,089 |
| Louisiana | 70113 New Orleans | $15,675 |
| Georgia | 31901 Columbus | $16,632 |
| Mississippi | 39069 Fayette | $17,480 |
| Florida | 33128 Miami | $19,138 |
| Washington | 99201 Spokane | $26,685 |
| Utah | 84111 Salt Lake City | $31,169 |
| Vermont | 05656 Johnson | $37,375 |
| Wyoming | 82072 Bosler | $39,665 |
| Alaska | 99556 Anchor Point | $50,913 |
In 34 states the poorest ZIP code had a median household income below $25,100, the 2018 federal poverty guideline for a family of four. In the other 16, mostly smaller and more rural states in the West and New England, even the poorest qualifying ZIP code was above it [1][2]. Alaska’s poorest, Anchor Point, had a median of $50,913, more than four times Erie’s.
The graphic has a few slips worth knowing about. It spells Port Orford, Oregon, as “Port Oxford” [6], leaves the state off the Wilmington (Delaware) and Las Vegas (Nevada) cards, and labels Volcano, Hawaii, and Oklahoma City with figures on the map that do not match their own cards ($30,172 and $21,530 on the cards).
Why are some ZIP codes so poor?
The poorest ZIP codes on these lists share a few patterns. Many are downtown or inner-city areas of older industrial cities, such as Erie, Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit and Johnstown, where manufacturing jobs left and population fell. Others are rural areas with few employers, including several on or near Native American reservations, such as Sacaton in Arizona, Belcourt in North Dakota and Mission in South Dakota [1]. Some are skewed by who lives there: ZIP codes dominated by students, public housing or care facilities can show very low household incomes even when the wider city is doing well, as Madison 53706 shows [5].
What US state is #1 in poverty?
By the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, Louisiana had the highest poverty rate of any state, at 18.9%, followed by Mississippi at 18.0%; the Census Bureau says the two were not statistically different. New Hampshire had the lowest rate, at 7.2%, and the national rate was 12.5% [3]. Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oklahoma and West Virginia also had poverty rates of 15% or more [3].
The poverty line has risen with prices since TitleMax’s graphic. The 2026 federal poverty guideline for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states is $33,000, against $25,100 in 2018 [2][7].
How ZIP code income data works
The Census Bureau does not publish data for postal ZIP codes as such. It uses ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which it describes as generalised area representations of ZIP codes built from census blocks [8]. Figures for these areas come from the American Community Survey, which pools five years of responses for small areas, so each estimate has a margin of error. In a ZIP code of 1,000 to 2,000 households, that margin can be large, which is why rankings like these shift from one release to the next.
Questions about the poorest ZIP codes in the USA
What is the poorest ZIP code in the United States?
On TitleMax’s ranking of areas with at least 1,000 households, it was 16501 in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a median household income of $10,873 [1]. On newer 2020 to 2024 data, the lowest among large ZIP codes is 10454 in the South Bronx at $24,086 [5].
What are the 10 poorest cities in America?
By ZIP code, the ten lowest median incomes on TitleMax’s list were in Erie, Sacaton, Waterbury, Los Angeles, El Paso, Chattanooga, Toledo, Cincinnati, Livingston (Alabama) and Cleveland [1]. Rankings of whole cities use different data and usually put Detroit, Cleveland and similar cities near the bottom.
What U.S. state is #1 in poverty?
Louisiana, with a 2023 poverty rate of 18.9%, statistically tied with Mississippi at 18.0% [3].
Is 12345 a real ZIP code?
Yes. 12345 is assigned to General Electric’s site at 1 River Road in Schenectady, New York, and the post office there has long received children’s letters to Santa addressed to it.
What is the poorest ZIP code in Pennsylvania?
Erie 16501 on TitleMax’s ranking, which was also the poorest in the country. Johnstown 15901 also made both national bottom 15 lists [1].
Sources
- TitleMax, The Poorest ZIP Codes in America (the infographic), using US Census 5-digit ZIP Code Tabulation Area income data in 2017 inflation-adjusted dollars. The original TitleMax article now redirects to its blog.
- US Department of Health and Human Services, ASPE, 2018 Poverty Guidelines.
- US Census Bureau, Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas, 2022 and 2023 (ACSBR-022).
- Wikipedia, Erie, Pennsylvania.
- Neilsberg Research, Median Household Income by ZIP Code in United States, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-year estimates.
- Wikipedia, Port Orford, Oregon.
- US Department of Health and Human Services, ASPE, Poverty Guidelines (2026).
- US Census Bureau, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs).
- Zipwise, ZIP code 53706.
Last reviewed 2 November 2026
