- With a median annual household income of just over $22,000, Gifford, Florida, located in Indian River County near Vero Beach, is the state’s poorest community
- Florida’s median household income is over $61,000 per year, with a statewide poverty rate of 13 percent
- The poverty rate in Gifford clocks in at over 48 percent – nearly one in two households
- The poorest community in the nation is located in Texas, with a median annual household income of just $9,110
According to the latest data, the typical American household earned an average of $69,021 over the five years ending in 2021. While this latest figure represents a modest 6% increase over estimates from the five-year period ending in 2020, for most Americans, any increase in income has been wiped out by surging inflation.
Though the consumer price index has dipped since hitting a multi-decade high of 9.1% in June 2022, inflation remains at historic highs, and Americans across the country are feeling the pinch – particularly those on the lower end of the income spectrum, without the means to absorb rising costs.
According to the latest five-year ACS data, the typical household in Florida earns $61,777 a year, though there are many places in the state where incomes are far lower. Of the 592 towns in the state with available data, Gifford ranks as the poorest. The typical Gifford household earns just $22,353 a year, 63.8% less than the statewide median household income.
Given the low incomes, it is not surprising that a larger than average share of residents live in poverty. The local poverty rate in the town stands at 48.6%, compared to the statewide poverty rate of 13.1%.
All data in this story are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey. For the purposes of this story, towns are defined as incorporated legal entities or census-designated statistical areas with populations between 1,000 to 25,000 people. Towns were excluded if median household income was not available in the 2021 ACS or if the sampling error associated with a town’s data was deemed too high.
| State | Poorest town | Median household income in town ($) | Median household income in state ($) | Poverty rate in town (%) | Poverty rate in state (%) | Number of towns considered in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Livingston | 16,321 | 54,943 | 50.2 | 15.8 | 298 |
| Alaska | Alakanuk | 36,429 | 80,287 | 42.8 | 10.4 | 70 |
| Arizona | Cibecue | 18,232 | 65,913 | 66.7 | 13.5 | 168 |
| Arkansas | Marianna | 17,932 | 52,123 | 39.0 | 16.0 | 190 |
| California | Thermal | 14,500 | 84,097 | 40.2 | 12.3 | 732 |
| Colorado | Rocky Ford | 29,822 | 80,184 | 31.9 | 9.6 | 182 |
| Connecticut | Storrs | 23,964 | 83,572 | 45.4 | 10.0 | 128 |
| Delaware | Laurel | 34,615 | 72,724 | 40.0 | 11.4 | 50 |
| Florida | Gifford | 22,353 | 61,777 | 48.6 | 13.1 | 592 |
| Georgia | Glenwood | 19,625 | 65,030 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 326 |
| Hawaii | Hawaiian Ocean View | 25,402 | 88,005 | 39.2 | 9.5 | 114 |
| Idaho | Glenns Ferry | 29,219 | 63,377 | 41.7 | 11.4 | 87 |
| Illinois | Alorton | 19,605 | 72,563 | 58.6 | 11.8 | 621 |
| Indiana | Austin | 27,008 | 61,944 | 24.0 | 12.5 | 309 |
| Iowa | Fayette | 35,682 | 65,429 | 25.0 | 11.0 | 266 |
| Kansas | Chetopa | 21,843 | 64,521 | 28.3 | 11.5 | 188 |
| Kentucky | Clay City | 19,643 | 55,454 | 41.7 | 16.3 | 218 |
| Louisiana | Many | 18,148 | 53,571 | 46.2 | 18.8 | 248 |
| Maine | Machias | 20,333 | 63,182 | 38.3 | 11.0 | 101 |
| Maryland | Federalsburg | 31,532 | 91,431 | 28.4 | 9.2 | 273 |
| Massachusetts | Ware | 43,783 | 89,026 | 17.4 | 9.9 | 154 |
| Michigan | Baldwin | 22,593 | 63,202 | 40.8 | 13.3 | 382 |
| Minnesota | Aurora | 32,287 | 77,706 | 24.7 | 9.2 | 313 |
| Mississippi | Rosedale | 15,955 | 49,111 | 52.7 | 19.4 | 173 |
| Missouri | Versailles | 22,786 | 61,043 | 29.0 | 12.8 | 348 |
| Montana | Plains | 24,844 | 60,560 | 20.5 | 12.5 | 87 |
| Nebraska | Falls City | 37,712 | 66,644 | 14.5 | 10.3 | 115 |
| Nevada | Tonopah | 33,144 | 65,686 | 19.2 | 12.9 | 43 |
| New Hampshire | Ashland | 33,365 | 83,449 | 31.7 | 7.4 | 57 |
| New Jersey | Salem | 26,667 | 89,703 | 37.8 | 9.8 | 498 |
| New Mexico | University Park | 19,125 | 54,020 | 53.2 | 18.3 | 141 |
| New York | Rochester Institute of Technology | 18,229 | 75,157 | 49.8 | 13.5 | 750 |
| North Carolina | Scotland Neck | 15,985 | 60,516 | 47.4 | 13.7 | 405 |
| North Dakota | New Rockford | 35,595 | 68,131 | 11.3 | 10.7 | 50 |
| Ohio | Lincoln Heights | 12,183 | 61,938 | 64.4 | 13.4 | 623 |
| Oklahoma | Wetumka | 24,769 | 56,956 | 43.0 | 15.2 | 225 |
| Oregon | Grand Ronde | 27,465 | 70,084 | 33.2 | 12.1 | 200 |
| Pennsylvania | Shippensburg University | 18,125 | 67,587 | 63.8 | 11.8 | 942 |
| Rhode Island | Central Falls | 40,235 | 74,489 | 24.9 | 11.3 | 19 |
| South Carolina | Blackville | 19,583 | 58,234 | 35.8 | 14.5 | 236 |
| South Dakota | Fort Thompson | 24,125 | 63,920 | 47.4 | 12.5 | 74 |
| Tennessee | Jamestown | 18,000 | 58,516 | 46.7 | 14.3 | 272 |
| Texas | Carrizo Hill | 9,110 | 67,321 | 96.9 | 14.0 | 877 |
| Utah | East Carbon | 39,583 | 79,133 | 22.9 | 8.8 | 135 |
| Vermont | West Brattleboro | 36,618 | 67,674 | 19.4 | 10.5 | 47 |
| Virginia | Jonesville | 17,344 | 80,615 | 46.9 | 9.9 | 328 |
| Washington | Oroville | 32,083 | 82,400 | 33.2 | 10.0 | 345 |
| West Virginia | Williamson | 18,640 | 50,884 | 32.9 | 16.9 | 143 |
| Wisconsin | Lac du Flambeau | 26,076 | 67,080 | 29.9 | 10.7 | 357 |
| Wyoming | Fort Washakie | 41,944 | 68,002 | 30.1 | 10.7 | 52 |
This whole article is wrong. As of Dec 2022, the city of University, Fl is the poorest not Gifford
Gifford is not even a town, it’s an area that carries a Vero Beach address.
I saw it when I was in Vero Beach
There are poor communities in every state in the nation and every nation on earth. There always will be. The primary reason for poverty is that the people who live in poor places are dispirited in one way or another, by alcohol and / or drug abuse, familial poverty, mental illness, negative thinking, government dependency, laziness, crime, hate, envy, and by thousands of other factors related ultimately to human sin.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Or once good paying jobs being moved overseas
Keep voting democrat , and things won’t change
Vote republican, and things will get much worse.
Well we could vote republican and then we will all live below poverty
Florida is republican you moron.
I don’t live near that town .but I live on 24k from S.S. as are millions of us..will never collect anywhere near 1 half of contribution before death. Why no raises?and illegals get 4k and more in luxuries plus free rent and food. GREATEST nation .my azz.worked 40 yrs for company went bankrupt and stole our pensions and 401.never had a 401 they just claimed so. Deducted us anyway .fake all around Shrugged shoulders everywhere. So don’t act like you discovered a lost tribe in the wild ,there’s millions of us.
Just wait – Kevin McCarthy and his band of miscreants are going to cut our social security. Then we are really screwed.
Here in Immokalee Florida we keep getting punished because we’re poor for the free food most of it’s rotten out here Ron DeSantis really destroyed a lot of us cuz of him were starving sometimes
Kaka
And I bet the houses cost 10x that.
Nice to see Old Town in Dixie County isn’t the poorest anymore! Yay! Thanks Nestle!!
What about moon lake
Complete BS. First of all it’s NOT A TOWN. Then you somehow picked out two of the worst buildings you could find. Gifford is a CDP and in the URBAN part, approx 1 sq mile/8 blocks are very proud people with LIVES. They have mostly good housing, a great community center including olympic sized pool and FREE transportation and after school child care and homework help. They have extensive activities. The rest is some of the most expensive housing in the county.
AND BTW there is massive building development for low income housing going on there. Since the former ones had to be bulldozed down due to lack of care by the residents.