How many people live in poverty in Los Angeles County?

Los Angeles County has 9,848,406 residents, more than any other county in the country. According to the American Community Survey, the Census Bureau's annual household survey, 13.6% of them live below the poverty line. That works out to about 1.34 million people, the largest number of any US county and nearly 1.8 times the next county on the list.

The rate itself is ordinary. The median US county reports 13.2%, a gap of 0.4 points. Ranked from the highest rate down, Los Angeles County comes 1,482nd of the 3,144 counties in the 50 states and DC. The count is large because the county is large.

More residents in poverty than most states

Add up each state's counties the same way, by applying each county's rate to its population, and Los Angeles County has more residents in poverty than 41 of the 50 states. Only 9 states have more: California itself, Texas, Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Georgia, and North Carolina. The 11 states with the fewest residents in poverty, from Wyoming to Maine, hold about 1.15 million between them, still fewer than this one county.

Los Angeles County is home to 3.0% of everyone in the 50 states and DC, and to 3.2% of those in poverty.

The counties with the most residents in poverty

The top of this list is a list of large counties, not of high rates. Of the ten counties with the most residents in poverty, only Maricopa County has a rate below the median US county.

1. Los Angeles County, California: about 1,344,000 residents, a rate of 13.6%.
2. Harris County, Texas: about 757,000, a rate of 15.9%.
3. Cook County, Illinois: about 692,000, a rate of 13.3%.
4. Maricopa County, Arizona: about 505,000, a rate of 11.3%.
5. Kings County, New York: about 500,000, a rate of 18.9%.

These counts are estimates. The survey measures poverty for most residents but not all of them, so applying the rate to the full population gives a close figure rather than an exact one, and each estimate carries a margin of error. How the survey's figures are built into a population, and where their limits are, is set out in the methodology.

Inside California

California has 58 counties. Los Angeles County holds 25.1% of the state's residents and 28.6% of those in poverty. Ranked from the highest rate down, it comes 22nd of the 58, against a median California county of 12.6%.

Income and housing

The county's median household income is $87,760, against $63,672 for the median US county. It ranks 293rd of the 3,142 counties with an income figure. Its housing costs are among the highest in the country:

1. Households spending 30% or more of income on housing, owners and renters together: 45.3%, the 4th highest of 3,144 counties, against 23.1% in the median county.
2. Median gross rent: $1,893 a month, against $854 in the median county.
3. Median value of an owner-occupied home: $783,300, against $174,650.
4. Owner-occupied homes: 46.1%, the 36th lowest share of any county, against 74.5% in the median county.

What this changes for a plan

A rate tells you how common poverty is in a place. A count tells you how many people a program, a service, or a campaign has to reach. In Los Angeles County the two point in different directions: an average rate, and more people in poverty than most states. A plan built on the rate alone would rank the county as unremarkable. That gap between rate and count is the reason for place-based analysis that keeps both in view.

Cambium AI builds synthetic populations from this same public data, so a research or marketing team can look at who those 1.34 million residents are before a budget is set.

Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates