‘Not enough jobs.’ Nine of the 30 poorest counties in U.S. are in Eastern Kentucky.

The poverty rates in nine Eastern Kentucky counties were among the 30 highest in the nation in 2016, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The rate in Owsley County was third-highest in the country, at 45.2 percent, the agency estimated.

The highest rate in the U.S. was in Todd County, S.D., at 48.6 percent, and next was Crowley County, Col., at 48 percent, according to the report released Thursday.

The other Kentucky counties in the group with the highest estimated poverty rates were Clay, Martin, McCreary, Knox, Lee, Bell, Knott and Harlan.

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