Poverty in the U.S.: The Poorest Towns in Every State

Presque Isle, Maine

Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

Median Household Income: $37,036
Poverty Rate: 23.2%
Population: 9,246
Median Home Value: $108,700

This small town in northeastern Maine holds the distinction of being the poorest town in the whole state – and the only one that has a median household income of less than $40k. 12% of the town earns less than $10k a year, which is nearly double the state average of 6.4%.

This city got its name from the French presqu’île, which means “almost island.” It’s a geographical term that denotes a piece of land that is closer to being an island than most other peninsulas because it is joined to the mainland by an extremely narrow neck of land.