November 2, 2024
More Than 1 In 9 Americans Live In Poverty

In 2022, the U.S. official poverty rate was 11.5% with a total of 37.9 million people in poverty.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, visualizes the three-year average of poverty rates by U.S. state from 2020 to 2022.

The poverty rates are calculated using the official poverty measure, which defines poverty by comparing the pre-tax annual income to a specific national threshold adjusted for family size.

The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau and are updated as of September 2023.

Southern U.S. Generally More Poor

U.S. poverty rates were relatively higher in the South.

Many of the states with the highest poverty rates, including New Mexico (18.2%), Mississippi (17.8%), Louisiana (16.9%), Arkansas (15.9%), and Kentucky (15.8%), are characterized by large rural areas which are historically poorer than urban areas.

State Number of people in poverty (in thousands) Percentage of population in poverty
New Mexico 382 18.2%
Mississippi 518 17.8%
Louisiana 765 16.9%
Arkansas 475 15.9%
Kentucky 706 15.8%
Oklahoma 620 15.8%
West Virginia 274 15.6%
Alabama 738 14.8%
District of Columbia 98 14.7%
Texas 4,026 13.7%
North Carolina 1,407 13.3%
South Carolina 693 13.3%
Florida 2,861 13.1%
Georgia 1,391 13.0%
Nevada 394 12.6%
New York 2,410 12.4%
Arizona 876 12.1%
Michigan 1,156 11.7%
Alaska 81 11.5%
Missouri 695 11.5%
Ohio 1,345 11.5%
California 4,439 11.4%
Tennessee 796 11.4%
Indiana 739 10.9%
Pennsylvania 1,368 10.8%
Montana 118 10.7%
Delaware 106 10.5%
Hawaii 146 10.2%
Connecticut 350 9.8%
South Dakota 86 9.7%
North Dakota 73 9.6%
Oregon 399 9.5%
Illinois 1,174 9.4%
Iowa 299 9.4%
Kansas 260 9.0%
Idaho 170 8.9%
Maine 122 8.9%
Rhode Island 95 8.8%
Wyoming 49 8.7%
Maryland 529 8.6%
Virginia 733 8.6%
Colorado 489 8.5%
Massachusetts 589 8.5%
Vermont 53 8.4%
Washington 637 8.3%
New Jersey 749 8.2%
Nebraska 159 8.1%
Wisconsin 467 8.0%
Minnesota 429 7.7%
New Hampshire 99 7.1%
Utah 235 7.1%

Many of these Southern states also have low levels of education attainment and labor force participation, which contribute to slow economic growth and lower personal income levels.

Nine of the 15 states with the lowest per-worker GDP are in the South, and states like Kentucky and Arkansas are among the states with the lowest prime-age employment-to-population ratio.

On the county level, about one in five counties in the South experienced “persistent poverty,” maintaining a poverty rate above 20% for three decades. Over 80% of all persistently poor counties in the U.S. are located in the South.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/19/2024 - 23:00

In 2022, the U.S. official poverty rate was 11.5% with a total of 37.9 million people in poverty.

This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the three-year average of poverty rates by U.S. state from 2020 to 2022.

The poverty rates are calculated using the official poverty measure, which defines poverty by comparing the pre-tax annual income to a specific national threshold adjusted for family size.

The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau and are updated as of September 2023.

Southern U.S. Generally More Poor

U.S. poverty rates were relatively higher in the South.

Many of the states with the highest poverty rates, including New Mexico (18.2%), Mississippi (17.8%), Louisiana (16.9%), Arkansas (15.9%), and Kentucky (15.8%), are characterized by large rural areas which are historically poorer than urban areas.

State Number of people in poverty (in thousands) Percentage of population in poverty
New Mexico 382 18.2%
Mississippi 518 17.8%
Louisiana 765 16.9%
Arkansas 475 15.9%
Kentucky 706 15.8%
Oklahoma 620 15.8%
West Virginia 274 15.6%
Alabama 738 14.8%
District of Columbia 98 14.7%
Texas 4,026 13.7%
North Carolina 1,407 13.3%
South Carolina 693 13.3%
Florida 2,861 13.1%
Georgia 1,391 13.0%
Nevada 394 12.6%
New York 2,410 12.4%
Arizona 876 12.1%
Michigan 1,156 11.7%
Alaska 81 11.5%
Missouri 695 11.5%
Ohio 1,345 11.5%
California 4,439 11.4%
Tennessee 796 11.4%
Indiana 739 10.9%
Pennsylvania 1,368 10.8%
Montana 118 10.7%
Delaware 106 10.5%
Hawaii 146 10.2%
Connecticut 350 9.8%
South Dakota 86 9.7%
North Dakota 73 9.6%
Oregon 399 9.5%
Illinois 1,174 9.4%
Iowa 299 9.4%
Kansas 260 9.0%
Idaho 170 8.9%
Maine 122 8.9%
Rhode Island 95 8.8%
Wyoming 49 8.7%
Maryland 529 8.6%
Virginia 733 8.6%
Colorado 489 8.5%
Massachusetts 589 8.5%
Vermont 53 8.4%
Washington 637 8.3%
New Jersey 749 8.2%
Nebraska 159 8.1%
Wisconsin 467 8.0%
Minnesota 429 7.7%
New Hampshire 99 7.1%
Utah 235 7.1%

Many of these Southern states also have low levels of education attainment and labor force participation, which contribute to slow economic growth and lower personal income levels.

Nine of the 15 states with the lowest per-worker GDP are in the South, and states like Kentucky and Arkansas are among the states with the lowest prime-age employment-to-population ratio.

On the county level, about one in five counties in the South experienced “persistent poverty,” maintaining a poverty rate above 20% for three decades. Over 80% of all persistently poor counties in the U.S. are located in the South.

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