Poorest state in India
Bihar is the poorest state on both common measures. Its income per person was ₹69,321 in 2024-25, the lowest of any state with data, and 33.76% of its people were multidimensionally poor in 2019-21, the highest share in the country. Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand follow on income; Jharkhand and Meghalaya follow Bihar on the poverty index.
Lowest income per person, 2024-25
| State | ₹ per person a year | Share of the highest (Delhi) |
|---|---|---|
| Bihar | ₹69,321 | 14% |
| Uttar Pradesh | ₹1,08,572 | 22% |
| Jharkhand | ₹1,16,663 | 24% |
| Madhya Pradesh | ₹1,52,615 | 31% |
| Jammu & Kashmir | ₹1,54,826 | 31% |
| Meghalaya | ₹1,57,141 | 32% |
| Assam | ₹1,59,185 | 32% |
| Chhattisgarh | ₹1,62,870 | 33% |
| West Bengal | ₹1,63,467 | 33% |
| Odisha | ₹1,68,966 | 34% |
Per capita net state domestic product at current prices, from the RBI Handbook. Eight states and UTs, including Gujarat, have no 2024-25 figure. See the full ranking.
Share of people who are multidimensionally poor
NITI Aayog’s index counts a person as poor if they are deprived on a third or more of 12 measures covering health, education and living standards, such as nutrition, schooling, sanitation, cooking fuel and housing. It is not an income measure and not the poverty line. India’s headcount fell from 24.85% in 2015-16 to 14.96% in 2019-21.
| Rank | State or UT | 2019-21 | 2015-16 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bihar | 33.76% | 51.89% | -18.1 pts | |
| 2 | Jharkhand | 28.81% | 42.10% | -13.3 pts | |
| 3 | Meghalaya | 27.79% | 32.54% | -4.8 pts | |
| 4 | Uttar Pradesh | 22.93% | 37.68% | -14.8 pts | |
| 5 | Madhya Pradesh | 20.63% | 36.57% | -15.9 pts | |
| 6 | Assam | 19.35% | 32.65% | -13.3 pts | |
| 7 | Chhattisgarh | 16.37% | 29.90% | -13.5 pts | |
| 8 | Odisha | 15.68% | 29.34% | -13.7 pts | |
| 9 | Nagaland | 15.43% | 25.16% | -9.7 pts | |
| 10 | Rajasthan | 15.31% | 28.86% | -13.5 pts | |
| 11 | Arunachal Pradesh | 13.76% | 24.23% | -10.5 pts | |
| 12 | Tripura | 13.11% | 16.62% | -3.5 pts | |
| 13 | West Bengal | 11.89% | 21.29% | -9.4 pts | |
| 14 | Gujarat | 11.66% | 18.47% | -6.8 pts | |
| 15 | Uttarakhand | 9.67% | 17.67% | -8.0 pts | |
| 16 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu | 9.21% | 19.58% | -10.4 pts | |
| 17 | Manipur | 8.10% | 16.96% | -8.9 pts | |
| 18 | Maharashtra | 7.81% | 14.80% | -7.0 pts | |
| 19 | Karnataka | 7.58% | 12.77% | -5.2 pts | |
| 20 | Haryana | 7.07% | 11.88% | -4.8 pts | |
| 21 | Andhra Pradesh | 6.06% | 11.77% | -5.7 pts | |
| 22 | Telangana | 5.88% | 13.18% | -7.3 pts | |
| 23 | Mizoram | 5.30% | 9.78% | -4.5 pts | |
| 24 | Himachal Pradesh | 4.93% | 7.59% | -2.7 pts | |
| 25 | Jammu & Kashmir | 4.80% | 12.56% | -7.8 pts | |
| 26 | Punjab | 4.75% | 5.57% | -0.8 pts | |
| 27 | Ladakh | 3.53% | 12.70% | -9.2 pts | |
| 28 | Chandigarh | 3.52% | 5.97% | -2.4 pts | |
| 29 | Delhi | 3.43% | 4.44% | -1.0 pts | |
| 30 | Sikkim | 2.60% | 3.82% | -1.2 pts | |
| 31 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 2.30% | 4.29% | -2.0 pts | |
| 32 | Tamil Nadu | 2.20% | 4.76% | -2.6 pts | |
| 33 | Lakshadweep | 1.11% | 1.82% | -0.7 pts | |
| 34 | Puducherry | 0.85% | 1.71% | -0.9 pts | |
| 35 | Goa | 0.84% | 3.76% | -2.9 pts | |
| 36 | Kerala | 0.55% | 0.70% | -0.1 pts |
Headcount ratio, per cent of the population. Surveys: NFHS-4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5 (2019-21). The most recent figures here are from before 2022.
Questions
Which is the poorest state in India?
Bihar, on both measures: the lowest income per person (₹69,321 in 2024-25) and the highest multidimensional poverty headcount (33.76% in 2019-21).
Which state has improved the most?
Bihar cut its headcount by 18.1 percentage points between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the most of any state, followed by Madhya Pradesh (15.9) and Uttar Pradesh (14.8).
Which state has the lowest poverty?
Kerala has the lowest multidimensional poverty headcount at 0.55%, followed by Goa, Puducherry and Lakshadweep, all below 1.2%.
Why do the two lists differ?
Income per person measures money earned. The multidimensional index measures deprivation in health, schooling and living conditions. Jammu & Kashmir, for example, is fifth lowest on income but has a poverty headcount of only 4.80%.
Is this the same as the poverty line?
No. The poverty line is a consumption cut-off. The multidimensional index counts deprivations from household surveys, so the two give different numbers.
Use this data
Download the figures on this page. If you use them, please credit India in Data and the original source.
Cite this
India in Data, "Poorest states in India: income per person and multidimensional poverty". https://indiaindata.online/poorest-state-in-india. Original source: RBI, Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25, Tables 19 and 10 (NSO, MoSPI; NITI Aayog).
Sources: RBI, Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25: Table 19 (per capita NSDP, from the National Statistical Office, MoSPI) and Table 10 (multidimensional poverty, from NITI Aayog, National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023). See our methodology.
Related: richest state in India. All state rankings