It should be noted that the poorest counties in Kansas and Indiana listed above are homes to major state universities, and the large presence of graduate students likely makes those areas seem poorer than they actually are (at least, without all of the negative social indicators associated with poverty, like low education rates, malnutrition, etc.). I can assure you, Monroe County, Indiana is a very nice place to be! I know Athens has poor Appalachian communities in addition to the university town, but I don't believe this is the case to such an extent in either IN/KS. Just something to keep in mind.
Athens has a good mix of legitimately poor Appalachians and hippie college students that it's hard to say. (And OU is a significant portion of the residency of the county. There are 29k students on the main campus, and only 66k in the county as a whole.) It may well be that Ohio is the only state on the list where the poorest county is also the most progressive.
