Richest and Poorest Area Codes in the US

A phone number communicates a lot. Practically speaking, it reveals where you can be reached, and the area of the country you’re calling from. But if you dig a little deeper, an area code contains information about the economic situation of its residents, too.

To find out the 25 poorest and richest area codes, GOBankingRates used the 2015 Census Community Survey, the most recent data available, to rank cities across the nation in order of mean household income and sort by area code. To determine the richest and poorest, we averaged the incomes of the three highest-earning cities or lowest-earning cities to find the overall representative household income for a particular area code. Click through to see the wealthiest area codes — and the places that are struggling the most.

Many of the poorest area codes across the country are in rural areas where access to healthcare and education choices are limited. Some of the area codes are home to formerly prosperous mining or railroad towns whose heyday has long faded, leaving jobs and other economic opportunities in short supply. Others are tucked in agricultural areas or cities where a once-thriving main industry is on the downturn.

Mean household income: $25,374

Rural and eastern parts of North Carolina are the areas most touched by poverty, with the 910 area code the poorest in the state. The least prosperous areas include Dobbins Heights, Norman and Ingold. In Ingold, although most employed residents work a 40-hour workweek, the median income is just $14,846.

Mean household income: $24,562

Grand antebellum mansions in Vicksburg, Natchez and elsewhere in Central Mississippi are reminders of a bygone era. The southern half of the nation’s poorest state is one of the least prosperous in the nation, although not the poorest area code in Mississippi. Its poorest town, Port Gibson City, has an annual household income of $17,165.

Mean household income: $24,327

Rural southwest Georgia is one of two area codes in the state that are among the poorest in the nation. In area code 229, Dougherty County surrounding Albany is the poorest in the state, with nearly 31 percent of people living in poverty. Only a third of its 93,000 residents have jobs.

In the state’s most poverty-stricken town, Omega, only 25 percent of the population is employed, earning a median household income of $15,652. Nearly 59 percent of the town’s residents are impoverished.

Mean household income: $23,986

Area code 803 stretches through the very heart of South Carolina and surrounds its state capital, Columbia. The area code is home to one of the largest remaining tracts of towering loblolly pines, protected within Congaree National Park, which you can visit for free.

The most impoverished town in the area code, Vance, was once an important port along the Santee River. Today, some of the state’s best peaches are grown in the Vance area. However, the town has a poverty rate of 45 percent and a median household income of $17,292.

Mean household income: $23,776

Swanky ski areas like Whitefish and Red Lodge might come to mind when you think of Montana, but its statewide area code ranks as the 21st most impoverished in the nation. Ballantine, the most destitute town in the area code, is in the eastern part of the state, about a 90-minute drive from Red Lodge Resort. The median household income in the town is $18,654, compared with $51,122 in Whitefish or $42,500 in Red Lodge.

Mean household income: $23,567

A vacation to northern Minnesota might take you to see tumbling waterfalls Voyageurs National Park or explore wilderness lakes in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. But for some residents in the state’s 218 area code, life is no vacation. Half of the 16 Minnesota counties with a poverty rate greater than 14 percent lie within the area code, and over a dozen more counties have poverty levels of more than 11.5 percent.

Mean household income: $23,470

With its Hollywood star-studded beaches, stunning cliffside mansions and booming job growth, you might not expect to see a California area code among the top 20 poorest in the country. But according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the state has the highest poverty level when using the Supplemental Poverty Measure that takes into account living costs.

Area code 707, which covers the northwest part of the state along the coast, has some of the hardest-hit areas. Residents of Valley Ford, in the western part of picturesque Sonoma County, have a median income of just $8,958 and a community poverty rate of over 85 percent.

Mean household income: $23,392

Although the mean household income for the 620 area code is under the federal poverty level for a family of four, places like Piqua have a median household income that’s only half that. An old railroad town and the birthplace of actor Buster Keaton, Piqua has a median household income of just $12,009.

Despite the low wages, the town’s economy is improving. There was a 23.5 percent increase in the town’s employment and a 14 percent increase in property values between 2014 and 2015.

Mean household income: $22,963

Most folks visiting the southwest part of Missouri head to the entertainment capital of Branson or to the many beautiful lakes that dot the region. But residents of the 417 area code have less-than-average disposable income for entertainment and sightseeing.

Just an hour’s drive north of Branson, where the median household income tops $40,000 per year, you’ll find South Greenfield. There, people struggle to make ends meet on a median household income of $10,833 and a poverty rate that exceeds 59 percent. The economy is on the decline, with a nearly 6 percent increase in joblessness and property values declining by more than 10 percent between 2014 and 2015.

Mean household income: $22,300

Interstate 20 cuts through the most impoverished area code in Louisiana. The state ranked dead last in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best States” list due to its low scores on factors such as healthcare, education, opportunity, crime and economy.

The town of Cullen is among the destitute areas, with a 40 percent poverty level and a median household income of $14,070. The economy is on the downturn, with property values dropping nearly 30 percent and joblessness increasing by about 17 percent.

Mean household income: $22,213

The 660 area code extends up through central Missouri and across the top of the state. The area code is one of three in the state that rank as the most impoverished in the nation.

There, the rural town of Quitman, once a cattle ranching hub and trade center for sharecroppers, is no longer incorporated because no one ran for the board of trustees. The number of employed workers has declined by 52 percent and the poverty rate climbed to nearly 38 percent. Employed area workers bring in a median household income of $16,250.

Mean household income: $21,748

The far western reaches of Virginia paint a stark contrast to the prosperity found elsewhere throughout the state. Only 54 percent of people living in the area, much of which is within area code 276, are employed. There, suicide rates are triple those throughout the state as a whole, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Max Meadows has the lowest median household income in the area code, at $16,453. But the news is not all bleak. The area’s poverty rate is just over 12.2 percent, better than the 13.5 percent across the nation as a whole. The formerly prosperous area is home to the Fort Chiswell Mansion, a state historic landmark, and its historic homes have seen a recent property value increase of 281 percent.

Mean household income: $21,706

Eastern Nebraska’s 402 area code ranks as one of the most impoverished in the nation, but you’ll also find some of the most prosperous cities there. For example, Omaha and Lincoln each have median household incomes of about $51,000, and Nebraska City has a median household income of about $42,000.

However, residents in rural areas have a different experience. Thurston is the area code’s poorest county, with a poverty rate of 30.6 percent. In Nora, the census-designated place with the lowest income, the median annual income per household just under $19,000.

Mean household income: $20,863

Although poverty is shrinking in Arkansas overall, the state’s 17 percent poverty rate is still well above the national rate of 13.5 percent. Area code 870, which encompasses much of the eastern part of the state, is particularly hard hit. Hermitage, in the state’s southeast corner, has a poverty rate of 67.5 percent and a median household income of $16,250.

Mean household income: $20,760

Georgia’s other low-income area code surrounds the city of Macon. Macon County has a poverty rate of nearly 30 percent with significant declines in property value and employment recently. In the town of Ideal, life is anything but ideal for the average resident.

The poverty rate tops 48.5 percent and job growth has declined by nearly 5 percent. Property values have dropped a staggering 36 percent since 2014, and the 25 percent of residents who have jobs earn a median household income of $15,000.

Mean household income: $20,088

The 606 area code is the poorest in Kentucky and the 10th poorest in the nation. It’s separated from metro areas like Lexington by the dense woodlands and rugged landforms of the Daniel Boone National Forest. The poorest town in the area code, Arjay has a poverty rate of 69 percent and a median household income of $12,609, a decline of 5 percent from the previous year. Job growth in the area is slowly expanding, however, with a 29 percent growth rate.

Mean household income: $19,722

Although the southern half of Kansas also made the list of poorest area codes in the nation, the 785 area code in northern Kansas along the Interstate 70 corridor is the worse off of the two. Rural Oak Hill has a median household income of just under $2,500 annually, and the median property value is under $10,000. The 82 percent poverty rate is slightly offset by the number of employees rising in the area to 24, an increase of 380 percent.

Mean household income: $19,651

Outside the swanky metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona keeps a little-known secret. Much of the state falls into the 928 area code, the eighth poorest in the nation.

You’ll find resort towns like Sedona and Lake Havasu City within the 928 area code. But it’s also home to sparsely populated ranching areas like Sun Valley along Old Route 66 and former mining towns like Chloride, with median household incomes as low as $13,151. Douglas is also considered to be one of the poorest cities in Arizona, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

Mean household income: $18,231

The 361 area code is the second-poorest area code in the state of Texas and the seventh poorest in the nation. The area code’s poorest town, Concepcion, dates back to when Texas was part of Spain. The town celebrates its ranching roots with the annual Fiesta Del Rancho each October with live entertainment, carnival, parade, contests, bingo and a trail ride. Concepcion is a two-hour drive west of the resort town of Corpus Christi, which is also within the 361 area code.

Mean household income: $18,182

The Rio Grande River Valley, stretching along the Texas-Mexico Border on the southern tip of Texas, ranks as the sixth most impoverished area code in the country. Nearly half of the residents of Bluetown, the area code’s poorest city, live in poverty with a median household income of $14,479. The area code also includes resort town South Padre Island, a more prosperous area located an hour’s drive east of Bluetown.

Mean household income: $17,953

Covering the upper half of Mississippi, area code 662 ranks as the fifth poorest across the U.S. The poorest area of all is the town of Tchula. Once a thriving trade and shipping center settled in the early 1800s, it’s the poorest town in the poorest state in the country. The economic despair dates back to the Civil War era, and you can still see crumbling plantations separated from more modest brick homes on the other side of the railroad tracks.

Mean household income: $17,637

The 304 area code covers the entire state of West Virginia and ranks fourth as one of the poorest area codes in the country. Its poorest town, Pageton, has a median household income of $13,250 and lies in McDowell County, the poorest in the state.

John F. Kennedy campaigned in the county prior to the 1960 presidential election and was so alarmed by conditions there that he later created the modern food stamp program, with the county’s residents as the first recipients. The devastating poverty of Appalachia contrasts with the beauty of the West Virginia hills, but it inspired programs like Medicare, Medicaid and free school lunches that benefit impoverished Americans nationwide.

Mean household income: $17,592

Areas lying outside prosperous Oklahoma City and Tulsa make up the third-poorest area code in the country. The area code covers the panhandle, western and southern areas of the state.

Amorita, in the northern part of the state, is the poorest city in the area code, with a $13,750 median household income. It was a prosperous railroad town of more than 250 residents in the early 1900s, but the Alfalfa County city took a hit during the Great Depression when the railroad abandoned its line. Today, it houses fewer than 10 residents.

Mean household income: $16,895

Once the proud county seat of Montgomery County, Danville was burned and ransacked during the Civil War, and many of its citizens were murdered by pro-Confederate guerrilla forces. Today, it has fewer than 50 residents, with 100 percent of them living below the poverty line at a median income of $10,598.

Though it’s one of the poorest areas in the country, the 573 area code offers up natural beauty like Graham Cave State Park just 3 miles west of Danville and the Mark Twain National Forest 80 miles south.

Mean household income: $15,110

Northern New Mexico is famous for its Santa Fe art scene, Albuquerque balloon festival and Taos ski areas. The 575 area code covers those places, but it’s also home to some of the poorest areas in the country.

Rodeo, with a median household income of $10,655, tucks along the New Mexico-Arizona border. It’s home to the world-class Chiricahua Desert Museum featuring Native American artifacts, an art gallery, a Desert Botanical Garden, outdoor sculptures and a live reptile exhibit with more than 50 species.

Large metropolitan areas with prosperous industry and businesses form the hub of the richest areas across the nation. Look for the wealthiest area codes both in the metropolitan areas and upscale suburbs just outside the core of the city.

Mean household income: $234,597

Three San Francisco area codes made it onto the list of richest area codes in the country. East Bay San Francisco’s 925 area code includes places like Orinda, Alamo and Diablo, where the median property values top $1 million.

Thanks to high living costs, California is the state where people are most likely to live paycheck to paycheck. In the wealthiest cities, though, poverty rates are nearly nonexistent. Diablo has a 0 percent poverty rate among its 818 residents, while Orinda’s 18,703 residents have a 2.2 percent poverty rate. The prosperous communities are nestled among picturesque open space preserves and recreation areas.

Mean household income: $253,049

Located between Detroit and Flint, Michigan’s 248 area code is the most prosperous in the state. Picturesque communities with a poverty rate of 5.25 percent or less are surrounded by scenic lakes and wooded areas.

Median property values range from just under $500,000 in Franklin to more than $1 million in Lake Angelus, compared with $42,600 in nearby Detroit. Visit the Legoland Discovery Center or Sea Life Aquarium in the 248 area code and shop until you drop at the Michael Kors Outlet.

Mean household income: $253,076

Some of the richest area codes in the country are in the New York City metropolitan area. In New Jersey, the 201 area code includes communities surrounding Jersey City. Places like Saddle River, Upper Saddle River and Franklin Lakes have poverty rates of 3 percent or less.

Houses nestle along wooded preserves, lakes and riparian areas, and have median property values that range from $882,000 to $1.4 million. Just want a small space? You might be able to pick up a two-bedroom condo for about $850,000.

Mean household income: $253,376

Areas surrounding St. Louis in the 636 area code are some of the most prosperous in the state. Contrasting with St. Louis’s poverty rate of 25 percent, areas in the 636 area code just outside the city such as Ladue, Town and Country and Clarkson Valley have poverty rates of 3.4 percent or lower. Homes in the prosperous communities include median prices from $603,500 in Clarkson Valley to $794,100 in Ladue, but you can find mansions with price tags of more than $10 million in this area code.

Mean household income: $255,545

Deep in the heart of Texas, the 210 area code covers San Antonio, where the median property value is $126,600 citywide and the poverty rate is about 18 percent. The area code is made up of a median age of people in their 30s, although the most prosperous areas like Hill Country Village, Shavano Park, Terrell Hills have a median age in the mid-to-upper 40s. Expect to pay more than $500,000 for a single-family home, and up to nearly $15 million for a nine-bedroom estate.

Mean household income: $263,318

Area code 310 is the number you’ll start dialing when you ring up the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills or the Beverly Hills Hotel for a reservation. Other swanky spots in this ritzy area code include Rolling Hills, where the poverty rate is lower than 2 percent and median property values top $2 million. Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and the Hill Section of Manhattan Beach all make the list of the richest neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, according to Curbed Los Angeles.

Mean household income: $265,518

Two area codes encompassing much of the state of Kansas fall into the poorest area codes in the country. But the east part of the state, which includes Kansas City and Overland Park, is in the top 20 wealthiest area codes.

At the top of the list is Leawood in the Kansas City metro area, which has a poverty rate of less than 2.9 percent among its 33,339 citizens. The median property value is nearly $400,000 and growing at a rate of 2.63 percent.

Mean household income: $271,166

Stunning views of the St. Louis Gateway Arch can be seen from high-rise buildings in area code 314, which covers much of the St. Louis metro area. Among the richest neighborhoods in the area code is Huntleigh, on the western side of the metropolis.

There, sprawling homes have a median property value of $1.4 million, and you could pay as much as $1.3 million for a 2-acre lot. At the elite Old Warson Country Club, on the east side of Huntleigh, even the richest residents can’t buy their way in without sponsorship from a current member and approval by the board of directors.

Mean household income: $278,431

The richest residents of the Twin Cities area start their phone number with area code 651. Woodland, the richest city in the area code, has a 2.93 percent poverty rate and median property values exceeding $750,000. The year-round lakeside community is situated on the southern shore of Lake Minnetonka, with roots as a tony summer home community beginning in 1867. Furthermore, home prices in Minneapolis are skyrocketing, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

Mean household income: $288,147

Although Newark has a poverty rate of 29 percent, towns outside the metropolitan area have a much better economic outlook. The communities of Short Hills, Mountain Lakes and North Caldwell have poverty rates below 3.2 percent, plus median property values of $716,000 to nearly $1.25 million.

Mean household income: $288,468

If you find yourself waking up in the 415 area code, chances are you’ll have a great view to go with it once the fog lifts. Ride “little cable cars halfway to the stars” in the city of San Francisco where the median property value is $941,400.

Better yet, enjoy $2 million views in Ross or Belvedere. That amount reflects the median property value in both places. Savor views looking out at Richardson Bay or Angel Island in Belvedere, or hike the tree-covered hills laced with creeks, gardens and low-density housing in Ross.

Mean household income: $298,473

This early 20th-century capital of industry is home to one of the richest area codes in the country, 412, that covers the heart of Pittsburgh. The Steel City itself has a poverty rate of 23 percent and a median property value of $108,400. But its close-in swanky suburbs such as Sewickley Heights, Fox Chapel and Edgeworth boast poverty levels below 4.5 percent and median property values ranging from $500,000 to just under $1 million.

Mean household income: $302,361

Step just outside the Cleveland city limits to find yourself in one of the wealthiest area codes in the country, 440. The million-dollar views in Hunting Valley look out over forested rolling hills and dramatic river gorges. The low-density housing limits residences in order to preserve the natural beauty. Residents can hike trails, ride bridle paths or take in a game of polo in the 8-mile square settlement in the Chagrin River Valley.

Mean household income: $308,300

The 203 area code was the original area code for all of Connecticut. It now covers the areas closest to the New York City metro area such as Bridgeport, Danbury and New Haven. Some of the swankier suburbs in this rich area code include Westport, Darien and Old Greenwich, where property values nudge $1.5 million and poverty rates are below 5.5 percent. You’ll find some of the most expensive ZIP codes here, too.

Mean household income: $310,352

Find the ritziest area code in the Chicago area — and all of Illinois — in the north metro area bordering Wisconsin and Lake Michigan. The toniest addresses in this area code sit along the lakeshore, less than 25 miles from the heart of downtown. Estate homes in Kenilworth, for example, have a median property value of $1.4 million, but you’ll find high-end digs selling for $7.5 million or more.

Mean household income: $312,945

Suffolk County and its prestigious 631 area code cover most of Long Island, plus including Fishers Island, Gardiners Island and Plum Island. Check out the $2 million homes in Sagaponack, where the poverty rate is lower than 1 percent. There, the spacious homes sit on large lots, overlooking stretches of sandy beach or scenic inland waterways.

Mean household income: $325,075

Fort Worth got its start as the end of the line for cattle traveling the Chisholm Trail. Today, the booming city boasts one of the top 10 richest area codes in the country. Citizens with an 817 area code might choose to make their home in Southlake, where half-million dollar homes reflect the median property value of a community with a low poverty rate (2.92 percent). In Westlake, gracious estates average $1.5 million, but you can find luxury estates in the $10 million range.

Mean household income: $330,499

Nestled along the east bank of the Hudson River, north of Manhattan, Westchester County is home to one of the richest area codes in the state. In swanky Scarsdale, you’ll find homes on the market for as much as $8.6 million, and property taxes can cost around $50,000 per year. The average home price is $1.2 million, however, and the poverty rate is just 2.3 percent.

Mean household income: $341,443

The 425 area code is the most prosperous in Washington state and it covers the suburbs east and north of Seattle. Three of the richest neighborhoods in the area code sit along the eastern shore of Lake Washington. Hunts Point nestles on a green peninsula between Cozy Cove and Fairweather Bay, offering residents who can afford the $2 million median property value a water view from nearly every home. The median property value there doubled in just one year.

Immediately north, Yarrow Point’s homes have shot up to a median value of $1.74 million, a 74 percent increase. Medina, immediately south of Hunts Point, enjoyed a 56 percent growth rate in recent years that brought its median property values up to $1.56 million.

Mean household income: $348,898

The richest area code in Texas, area code 713, covers the heart of Houston out to Beltway 8. Dine at upscale restaurants amid 19th-century architecture in downtown and follow up with a show at the Houston Grand Opera in the downtown Theater District.

Head home to a residence in Piney Point Village, where property values have grown 56 percent to a median of $1.6 million. The upscale neighborhood on the western side of this area code features grand wooded estates selling for several times the median property value.

Mean household income: $368,063

Even though area code 561 is among the richest in the country, it places second in swank in the state of Florida. Covering Palm Beach County, the area code stretches from Boca Raton to Jupiter along the coast and inland as far as Lake Okeechobee.

The county’s poverty rate of 13.5 percent reflects the national average, but you’ll find lower poverty rates in some of its high-end neighborhoods. Manalapan, located along the Intracoastal Waterway, has a 1.5 percent poverty rate among its 265 residents. The Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve lies just offshore from the community, with a diveable shipwreck just 175 yards offshore.

Mean household income: $372,192

This wealthy Maryland community sprung up in the early 1900s along the border of Washington D.C. and Maryland. Today, the community falls within the 301 area code, one of the richest in the country, and has several sections. Chevy Chase Town has a poverty rate of just 0.6 percent and a median property value of $1.18 million. Chevy Chase Section Five has similar property values but a higher poverty rate of 4.5 percent.

Mean household income: $404,544

The most expensive area code in California lies just south of San Francisco, along the western side of San Francisco Bay. The area code’s wealthiest cities, Atherton, Woodside and Hillsborough, all have median property values of $2 million, where graceful estates tuck into wooded hillsides overlooking natural preserves.

Mean household income: $435,924

Near the western end of Long Island, the 516 area code surrounds Hempstead and includes upscale communities like Cove Neck, Hewlett Bay Park and Plandome. In the village of Cove Neck, median property values run $2 million, reflecting 100 percent growth in recent years. Situated along Oyster Bay, the homes list for as much as $2.8 million with spacious lots and ample square footage.

Mean household income: $485,464

Points farthest south in the continental U.S. include the richest place in the nation, area code 305. Extending from Miami to Key West and beyond, citizens raking in the mean family income for this code come close to making a half-million dollars each year.

Indian Creek, northeast of Miami, has the lowest poverty level in the area code at 3.3 percent. The median property value in the town reflects a 100 percent growth rate in recent years, bringing it to $2 million. The community centers around a country club by the same name on Indian Creek Island, where 60 residents have grand estates along the shoreline.

Viewed on a map, the differences between the 10 richest and poorest area codes are stark. The 10 richest area codes are in urban centers, while the poorest area codes are in rural areas.

Methodology: GOBankingRates sourced the 2015 Census Community Survey income data to determine the wealth of area codes across the nation in order of mean household income. To find the richest area codes, the top-three highest mean incomes per area code were averaged to come up with the mean income for the entire area code. To find the poorest area codes, the bottom-three lowest mean incomes per area code were averaged to come up with mean income for the entire area code. Only area codes with at least three high income or low-income cities were included. Area codes with both wealthy and poor cities were classified as either “rich” or “poor” if they had more wealthy or more poor cities in total. Area codes were sourced from AllAreaCodes.com.