Arizona County Income & Poverty: A Full Breakdown

In Arizona, the gap between the county with the highest median household income and the lowest reaches $45,180, a spread that tells a story of two very different Arizonas. Maricopa County, Arizona sits at the top with a median household income of $85,518, while Apache County, Arizona records just $40,338, placing it among the most economically stressed counties in the state.

The state's overall median household income of $60,417 compares against a national median of $63,171, offering a benchmark to assess how individual counties stand in broader context. But averages conceal as much as they reveal. Across Arizona's 15 counties, income and poverty figures vary sharply by geography, with rural and tribal-land counties often lagging far behind the metropolitan centers.

Highest-Income Counties in Arizona

The counties at the top of Arizona's income distribution tend to cluster around the greater Phoenix metro and affluent suburban corridors:

1. Maricopa County, Arizona: median household income $85,518
2. Pinal County, Arizona: median household income $77,588
3. Greenlee County, Arizona: median household income $75,239
4. Coconino County, Arizona: median household income $69,748
5. Pima County, Arizona: median household income $67,929

Counties with the Highest Poverty Rates

At the other end of the spectrum, some Arizona counties report poverty rates well above the national average. Apache County, Arizona leads the state at 31.2% of residents living below the poverty line:

1. Apache County, Arizona: 31.2% of persons in poverty
2. Navajo County, Arizona: 24.7% of persons in poverty
3. Santa Cruz County, Arizona: 20.2% of persons in poverty
4. La Paz County, Arizona: 18.4% of persons in poverty
5. Gila County, Arizona: 17.8% of persons in poverty

The Lowest-Income Counties

These five counties record the lowest median household incomes in Arizona, each facing structural economic challenges that persist across generations:

1. Mohave County, Arizona: $55,799 median household income
2. Santa Cruz County, Arizona: $53,614 median household income
3. Navajo County, Arizona: $52,752 median household income
4. La Paz County, Arizona: $49,506 median household income
5. Apache County, Arizona: $40,338 median household income

Per Capita Income: A Complementary Lens

Per capita income adds nuance to household-level data. A high median household income can reflect larger household sizes rather than individual economic strength. The top three Arizona counties by per capita income are:

1. Maricopa County, Arizona: $44,210 per capita income
2. Yavapai County, Arizona: $39,890 per capita income
3. Pima County, Arizona: $38,564 per capita income

Comparing per capita to median household figures often surfaces counties where large family sizes compress household averages, or where single-person households inflate per capita numbers. Neither figure alone captures the full picture.

What These Numbers Mean

A 20.4% gap in poverty rates between the most and least impoverished Arizona counties reflects more than economic differences. It reflects access to jobs, the presence or absence of anchor employers, educational infrastructure, and the legacies of land use and tribal sovereignty that shape many rural counties. Researchers, planners, and policymakers who rely solely on statewide or metro-area aggregates miss this complexity entirely.

County-level data from the ACS provides the granularity needed to identify where targeted investment and support could have the greatest impact. Browsing individual county profiles can surface patterns that aggregate data obscures.