Poverty on the rise The number of Americans living in poverty has been on the rise since the onset of the Great Recession, as many househo...
The number of Americans living in poverty has been on the rise since the onset of the Great Recession, as many households have seen their incomes drop and their debts mount during the past few years.
More than 15% of the population lived in poverty in 2010, the highest percentage since 1993, according to the most recent data from the Census Bureau. That means more than 46 million people fell below the poverty line, defined as $22,314 for a family of four. If you factor in the income spent on expenses such as medical costs, child care and mortgage payments, the number of Americans whose remaining income falls below the poverty line is closer to 50 million, or roughly 16% of the population.
Some regions in the U.S. are much worse off. In November, the Census Bureau released the poverty rates of every county in the U.S. in 2010. The data showed that in dozens of counties, more than a third of the population lives in poverty, and in a handful, overall poverty rates were closer to 50%.
MainStreet combed through the data to find the county in each state with the highest overall poverty rate. For those results, click through the following slides, listed alphabetically by state.
- Poverty rate: 39.6%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 52.5%
- Median household income: $21,611
The jobless rate in the South is higher than the national average, at more than 9%. The median annual income of residents of this rural county between Montgomery and Mobile is less than half of the national median income. The county's high school graduation rate of 71.1% also trails Alabama's 80.8% average.
- Poverty rate: 34.1%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 46%
- Median household income: $30,883
American Indians and Alaskan Natives make up about 95% of the population of this area about 300 miles west of Anchorage. That's a much higher percentage than for the state as a whole, where American Indians and Alaskan Natives make up about 14.8% of the population. Wade Hampton also has relatively small housing costs, with the median value of owner-occupied housing units at $80,300. Native Americans have historically been disenfranchised and have the highest poverty rate of any ethnicity in the country
- Poverty rate: 34.5%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 41.8%
- Median household income: $30,651
Another county with a large population of American Indians, Apache County has the 14th-highest poverty rate of the counties on our list. Apache County is rural, with an average of only 6.4 people per square mile. The terrain is quite beautiful, as the county is home to Petrified Forest National Park and Apache National Forest. If you've been to the Four Corners and stood on the Arizona side of that monument, you were standing in Apache County.
- Poverty rate: 37.5%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 46.1%
- Median household income: $25,944
Lee County's population has dropped 17.1% from 2000 to 2010, despite the fact that Arkansas as a whole has seen a population increase in that period. The county borders the Mississippi River on the east side of the state, and it has a total population just over 10,000.
- Poverty rate: 26.8%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 38.2%
- Median household income: $44,869
The poorest county in the Golden State isn't so sunny. While Fresno's poverty rate is relatively low compared with those of some of the other counties on our list, the county has a large number of people living below the poverty line -- 245,330 to be exact. Only two counties on our list have more residents living in poverty.
- Poverty rate: 34.7%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 35.7%
- Median household income: $34,569
More than 30 miles east of Pueblo, Crowley County is one of the smallest counties on our list in terms of population. There are about as many households in Crowley (1,163) as there are people living below the poverty line (1,087)
- Poverty rate: 11.8%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 15.3%
- Median household income: $56,564
If you're thinking that a county with an 11.8% poverty rate doesn't sound like a bad place to live, you're right. Windham's poverty rate is the lowest of any county on this list, but it is still the poorest county in Connecticut. To put this poverty rate in perspective, the U.S. poverty rate in 2010 was 15.3% and Windham's poverty rate is far below the national average. Not too shabby.
- Poverty rate: 13.9%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 24%
- Median household income: $48,582
Another county with a poverty rate that's below the national average, Sussex has high home values and a homeownership rate that's higher than the state average. With only three counties in Delaware, it's not hard for Sussex to claim the poorest county title.
- Poverty rate: 32.9%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 40.1%
- Median household income: $33,966
About half-an-hour northeast of Fort Myers, DeSoto County has a population of about 35,000. The county has lower high school and college graduation rates than the state average, but it has a higher homeownership rate. DeSoto is in the poorer half of the counties on our list.
- Poverty rate: 38.1%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 46.1%
- Median household income: $26,659
On the Georgia-Alabama border, this county just barely misses the top 10 poorest counties on our list. Stewart is a small county, with a population of 6,058 in 2010. The county doesn't seem to be growing by leaps and bounds, either. There was only one building permit granted in 2010.
- Poverty rate: 18.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 24.5%
- Median household income: $46,444
Similar to Delaware, Hawaii is a state with few counties to begin with. Hawaii County has a population that's growing at almost double the state's rate, the real-estate values are high, and the county's building permits made up about 33% of the state's total permits, suggesting that the county is growing.
- Poverty rate: 28.4%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 20.1%
- Median household income: $36,202
About 30 miles northeast of Idaho Falls, Madison County is a small county with a growing population. From 2000 to 2010, the county's population grew 36.7%. Homeownership is surprisingly low in this area, considering the median value of owner-occupied housing is $169,700, lower than the state average.
- Poverty rate: 31.1%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 49%
- Median household income: $29,278
Bordering Missouri and Kentucky, Alexander County is on the poorer half of our list, but not by much. The county's percentage of children in poverty is rather high, but Alexander sticks out statistically because of its high percentage of businesses owned by women. According to the census, 43.1% of businesses in Alexander county are owned by women, a number that's significantly higher than the state average of 30.5% or the national average of 28.8%
- Poverty rate: 24.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 18.1%
- Median household income: $38,348
People typically assume college towns have more affluent residents, but the poorest county in Indiana is also home to Indiana University. The county also has significantly higher high school and college graduation rates than the state does overall.
- Poverty rate: 19.1%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 26.2%
- Median household income: $34,250
On the Iowa-Missouri border, this county has just 0.28% of Iowa's total population. Decatur also has a relatively high proportion of senior citizens -- they make up 18.1% of the county's population.
- Poverty rate: 23.9%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 34.7%
- Median household income: $37,805
Wyandotte County contains a major city -- Kansas City -- yet this county is the state's poorest. The median household income is nothing to sneeze at, though, and the poverty rate for kids is well below 50%, meaning that this county is in a state whose economy is stable.
- Poverty rate: 40.1%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 54.4%
- Median household income: $22,335
Owsley County is a small area in the eastern part of Kentucky, roughly 90 miles from Lexington. The homeownership rate is high, with 76.3% of residents owning a home, higher than the Kentucky state average of 70.2%. However, the poverty rate for children is still higher than 50%.
- Poverty rate: 40.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 53.7%
- Median household income: $25,442
Located in the northeast part of the state, East Carroll Parish's population has dropped 17.6% from 2000 to 2010, even as Louisiana's overall population has grown 1.4% in the same period. The poverty level for the area has dropped by 4 percentage points, to 40.3%, since 2009, though it is still significantly above the state poverty rate of 18.7%.
- Poverty rate: 19.4%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 30.9%
- Median household income: $32,847
Washington County has a poverty rate that makes it the poorest in the state, but more than 900 U.S. counties have higher poverty rates. Washington County has seen a decline in jobs. On average, only 13 people live within each square mile of this county, which is about 10 miles from West Penobscot Bay.
- Poverty rate: 24.7%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 34.3%
- Median household income: $38,186
Baltimore City, which the census counts as its own county, has one of the largest populations of residents living in poverty on our list. Almost 150,000 Baltimore citizens live below the poverty line, and only three of every four residents are high school graduates.
- Poverty rate: 22.6%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 30%
- Median household income: $49,584
You may not know Suffolk County, but you probably know the major metro area that it contains: Boston. The county line leaves out some of the more affluent Boston suburbs, such as Cambridge and Brookline, though. The median household income is slightly less than $50,000, one of the highest on our list.
- Poverty rate: 32.5%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 22.5%
- Median household income: $35,644
Located about 75 miles north of Lansing, Isabella County has a homeownership rate that's lower than the state average, and it has a high number of multi-unit structures, suggesting that renters dominate the area. And while the overall poverty rate is high, the poverty rate for children is 10 percentage points lower, which bucks the trend of almost every other state on our list.
- Poverty rate: 22.1%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 33.9%
- Median household income: $35,978
Mahnomen County is one of the smallest counties on our list, with a population just over 5,000.The county has a large number of American Indian residents, representing a little more than 40% of the county's population. In fact, the City of Mahnomen website says Mahnomen County is only one of seven counties in the U.S. located entirely on a reservation.
- Poverty rate: 43.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 60.1%
- Median household income: $27,124
Issaquena County jumped up one spot on the list even though its poverty rate improved by 2 percentage points compared with the previous year. The county has one of the highest poverty rates for kids in the U.S. and has the second-highest poverty rate of the counties on this list.
- Poverty rate: 31.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 47.5%
- Median household income: $28,152
Like many of the counties from the South our list, home values in Pemiscot are quite low. The median value of owner-occupied units is $61,200, less than half of the state median value of $137,700.
- Poverty rate: 28.8%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 38.2%
- Median household income: $32,460
Glacier County is a piece of American culture and history. Located between the Great Plains and the Rockies, this county is also home to Glacier Park, the Blackfeet reservation and the Lewis and Clark National Forest.
- Poverty rate: 26.1%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 37.2%
- Median household income: $36,343
Another rural county to make our list, Thurston is located roughly 20 miles from Sioux City, Iowa. The county has a large Native American population, which accounts for 57.1% of its total residents. While Thurston has a high poverty rate, the rest of the state has a poverty rate that's below the national average.
- Poverty rate: 18.7%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 27.8%
- Median household income: $41,054
Nye County is by far one of the largest counties on our list in terms of area. At 109,781 square miles, Nye County takes up a large chunk of southern Nevada. The median household income in Nye is one of the highest on our list, breaking the $40,000 barrier.
- Poverty rate: 14.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 21.4%
- Median household income: $37,708
One of only a few counties on our list with a poverty rate that is below the national average, Coos County has a high homeownership rate and high home values.
- Poverty rate: 17%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 26%
- Median household income: $49,964
Cumberland County is one of the larger counties on our list in terms of population, but what really makes Cumberland stand out is its high median household income. Almost breaking the $50,000 barrier, Cumberland demonstrates why New Jersey had several counties on our list of the richest counties in America.
- Poverty rate: 32.6%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 42.8%
- Median household income: $29,473
McKinley County is a unique part of our list because of its proximity to another county on the list. That's right, two of the poorest counties border each other -- McKinley and Apache County in Arizona (also see Utah). Like Apache, McKinley County is rural, with only 13 people per square mile. The county also has a large Native American population at 75.5% of McKinley residents.
- Poverty rate: 30%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 42.2%
- Median household income: $32,674
One of New York's five boroughs, Bronx County stands out because of its high property values and low median household income. The median owner-occupied home value is more than $80,000 higher than the median state value, while the poverty rate is significantly higher than the state's overall rate.
- Poverty rate: 31.5%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 45.5%
- Median household income: $30,627
Bordering South Carolina, Robeson County shares a common trait with many other counties on this list: a population with a high percentage of Native Americans. According to the county's website, Robeson is home to the Tuscarora and Lumbee tribes.
- Poverty rate: 41.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 51.8%
- Median household income: $28,338
On the whole, North Dakota has fared better than most states in recent years and has by far the lowest unemployment rate in the country, but Sioux County is a bit of an exception. Like some of the counties on this list, Sioux County is primarily made up of American Indians who have been disenfranchised.
- Poverty rate: 26.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 36.9%
- Median household income: $35,051
Just south of Chillicothe lies Pike County, a small area with fewer than 30,000 residents. Pike has lower high school and college graduation rates than the state average, but its poverty rate is low compared with those of other counties on our list.
- Poverty rate: 27.3%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 32.7%
- Median household income: $31,423
About 20% of Okfuskee residents are American Indians, and about one-third of children who live in the county are impoverished. Only 11% of the residents in Okfuskee have college degrees, compared with 23% in Oklahoma as a whole.
- Poverty rate: 39.5%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 39.9%
- Median household income: $32,412
The 10th-poorest county on our list, Malheur is also one of the most rural regions on our list, with an average of only 3.2 people per square mile.
- Poverty rate: 26.4%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 36.4%
- Median household income: $34,667
Philadelphia contrasts with many of the other counties on our list because it is a major metro area. Only a handful of counties on our list could be considered urban. The poverty rate and median household income fall in the middle of the counties on our list, but what makes this county stand out is the number of residents living below the poverty line -- almost 400,000.
- Poverty rate: 17.5%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 25.3%
- Median household income: $45,572
As one of only five counties in the tiny state of Rhode Island, it's not hard for Providence to claim the title of the poorest county in the state. With a median household income well above $40,000, Providence is doing pretty well, and more than 1,200 U.S. counties have higher poverty rates.
- Poverty rate: 40.4%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 47.1%
- Median household income: $24,615
The overall poverty rate in Allendale County declined by less than 1 percentage point from 2009 to 2010.
- Poverty rate: 50.1%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 52.2%
- Median household income: $25,669
Ziebach County has had the unfortunate distinction of being the county with the highest poverty rate since 2004 in part because, like Sioux County, it is made up primarily of Native Americans with limited job opportunities. But if there's any consolation, it's that the poverty rate declined significantly from 62% in 2009 to just more than 50% in 2010. Still, it's hard to celebrate when half the county is living below the poverty line.
- Poverty rate: 40.4%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 46.8%
- Median household income: $27,142
Lake County is a small area with roughly 2,100 citizens living in poverty. Close to the Missouri border, this county has actually seen its poverty rate decline since 2009, when it was at 42.5%. Also, the cost of living in Lake County is relatively low, with the median value of owner-occupied housing units at $65,400 -- about half of the median value of owner-occupied housing units for the state of Tennessee overall.
- Poverty rate: 39.9%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 53.2%
- Median household income: $27,710
This county borders Mexico and is home to 54,000 people, one-third of them younger than 18 years old. Only 53.7% of Maverick's residents have graduated from high school, compared with the 79.3% for Texas as a whole. And only 14% have graduated from college, compared to the state's 25.4% overall rate.
- Poverty rate: 25.2%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 27.5%
- Median household income: $37,259
There must be something about the Four Corners area of the country, because San Juan County is the third county (Arizona and New Mexico are the two others) on our list within close proximity of the landmark.
- Poverty rate: 17.2%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 26.5%
- Median household income: $34,947
Another small county, Essex has a population of 6,000, and it has more older Americans than most. The census says that 19.3% of residents are 65 or older.
- Poverty rate: 21.2%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 28.5%
- Median household income: $31,352
Virginia had five counties on our list of the richest counties in America, with Loudoun County claiming the top spot. In fact, the state median household income from 2006 to 2010 was $61,406, about $30,000 more than the median income in Lee County.
- Poverty rate: 24.4%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 15.7%
- Median household income: $39,251
Whitman County has significantly higher high school and college graduation rates than the state averages, yet it remains the poorest county in Washington.
- Poverty rate: 33.6%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 45.4%
- Median household income: $24,133
McDowell County has the lowest median home value of any of the counties on our list, at $32,800. That's almost a third of the median home value for the state overall.
- Poverty rate: 29.8%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 47.9%
- Median household income: $31,509
Another of the small counties on our list, Menominee has a population of 4,232 and makes up an extremely small percentage of the state's total population.
- Poverty rate: 20.7%
- Poverty rate of residents under 18: 15.5%
- Median household income: $40,430
Wyoming is one of only a few states on our list with an overall poverty rate that is below the county's poverty rate for children. The county's largest city is Laramie.
mainst
No comments