Missouri Ranks 19th In The Best Or Worst States For Those Living In Poverty

With 36-million people living in poverty across the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the non-profit organization website SmileHub.com put together a study of the best and worst states to be for people in poverty.

20 key metrics were used including education and transportation availability, income and benefits, and housing, healthcare and food.

When the numbers were crunched together, Missouri came in as the 19th best state to be in for people in poverty.

Missouri was also identified as having the third lowest cost of living.

Overall, the worst states for people in poverty include Georgia, Texas and Mississippi while the best states are Washington, Minnesota and Massachusetts.

Full report:

With 35.9 million people living in poverty in the U.S., the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Reducing Poverty and the Best States for People in Poverty in 2026.

To highlight the states most supportive of people in poverty and the ones that need to improve the most, SmileHub compared each of the 50 states based on 20 key metrics. The data set ranges from the food insecurity rate to the number of charities for reducing poverty per capita to income inequality.

Key Stats

• Massachusetts has the most federal rental assistance per capita – 7.9 times more than Idaho, which has the least federal rental assistance.
• New York has the most public school spending per student – 3.2 times more than Utah, which has the least public school spending.
• Washington has the highest minimum wage – 2.3 times higher than Alabama, which is amongst the states with the lowest minimum wage.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://smilehub.org/blog/states-most-supportive-of-people-in-poverty/144