What city is hit hardest by extreme poverty in your state

The Trump administration’s war on poverty has ended according their studies posted a few weeks ago, but those 41 million US citizens who are currently in the throes of extreme poverty beg to differ with their analysis. I would guess that those who are on the administration war on poverty committee have blinder on and cannot see 41 million people mostly children and senior citizens who suffer each day.

This War On Poverty issue has been relevant in this country since the 1960’s and continues to drag on without a serious solution. So let’s look deeply into this problem, in the 1960’s this country was around 200 million strong, today we have a population of over 300 million american citizens within our borders. This means that out of the 100 million additional citizenry between the 60’s and today 41 million are in extreme poverty. 59 million have moved from extreme poverty so progress has been made. So the fight to continues and some battles have been won but the war wages on. We need to not look at the situation as bad but improving. The issue now is the battle has become more sophisticated and we need more modern weaponry. I ask each of you readers to think about that for a moment, how can the administration and you assist in helping those who are suffering pull themselves out of poverty. The answer could be within you and you not just the government. Below let’s start finding out what cities in each state need our help: But before we begin The Department of Health and Human Services sets the poverty threshold at $25,100 for a family of four in the contiguous United States. While the hardships associated with such financial strain are significant and pervasive, about 5.5 million Americans living in poverty face the additional strain that comes with living in an extremely poor neighborhood — one with a poverty rate of 40 percent or greater.

Despite near record-low unemployment, a booming stock market, and nearly the longest period of sustained economic growth in U.S. history, conditions are not improving for all Americans. The share of Americans living in poverty climbed from 13.8 percent to 15.1 percent between 2010 and 2016.

Encouragingly, the share of Americans living both below the poverty line and in a neighborhood with a poverty rate of at least 40 percent — referred to as concentrated poverty or extreme poverty — declined from 14.0 percent to 11.6 percent. However, some cities did not track with the national trend. In 41 states there was at least one metro area that reported an uptick in concentrated poverty between 2010 and 2016.

Alabama: Dothan Unemployment: 22.6% (poor neighborhoods) 8.2% (all other) The share of poor residents in the Dothan, Alabama, metro area living in neighborhoods with at least a 40% poverty rate — also referred to as the concentrated poverty rate — rose from 4.0% in 2010 to 8.5% in 2016, the largest increase of any city in the state. Over the same period, the statewide concentrated poverty rate rose from 10.4% to 14.1%, one of the larger increases of any state. Areas with high concentrations of low-income families and individuals often face a range of challenges, including lower quality schools, limited access to health care, higher crime rates, and fewer job opportunities. As the share of poor residents living in poor neighborhoods in Dothan rose over the past several years, so did the unemployment rate in extreme poverty areas. While the unemployment rate outside of extreme poverty tracts in Dothan rose slightly from 7.3% in 2010 to 8.2% in 2016, the jobless rate in extreme poverty tracts rose from 16.2% to 22.6%.

Arizona: Flagstaff: Unemployment: 14.0% (poor neighborhoods) 7.5% (all other) Two neighborhoods in the Flagstaff metro area crossed the extreme poverty threshold — a poverty rate of at least 40% — between 2010 and 2016. Some 13.6% of Flagstaff’s 28,200 poor residents live in those two neighborhoods, higher than the national concentrated poverty rate of 11.6% yet far less than Arizona’s concentrated poverty rate of 21.7%. As is the case in most metro areas on this list, economic growth has been slow in Flagstaff. From 2010 to 2016, Flagstaff’s economy grew at an average annual rate of just 0.9%, below the comparable growth rates statewide of 1.7% and nationwide of 2.0%.

Two neighborhoods in the Flagstaff metro area crossed the extreme poverty threshold — a poverty rate of at least 40% — between 2010 and 2016. Some 13.6% of Flagstaff’s 28,200 poor residents live in those two neighborhoods, higher than the national concentrated poverty rate of 11.6% yet far less than Arizona’s concentrated poverty rate of 21.7%.

As is the case in most metro areas on this list, economic growth has been slow in Flagstaff.

Arkansas: Hot Springs

• Unemployment: 16.2% (poor neighborhoods) 8.4% (all other)

The number of neighborhoods in which at least 40% of residents live in poverty the Hot Springs metro area rose from one in 2010 to three in 2016. Over the same period, the share of poor residents living within such neighborhoods in the metro area rose from 4.9% to 17.5%, the largest increase of any city in Arkansas.

Individuals living in concentrated poverty areas are less likely to complete high school and college. While in 2010 Hot Springs was one of the few metro areas nationwide in which college attainment was actually higher within extreme poverty tracts than outside, this has reversed as concentrated poverty increased over the last several years. Today, some 15.5% of adults within extreme poverty neighborhoods in Hot Springs have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 21.0% outside the city’s extreme poverty neighborhoods.

California: Visalia-Porterville

• Unemployment: 14.8% (poor neighborhoods) 9.7% (all other)

In the Visalia-Porterville metro area, the number of neighborhoods where at least 40% of the population lives in poverty more than doubled between 2010 and 2016, increasing from 6 to 16. Over the same period, the share of poor residents living in such neighborhoods rose from 14.4% to 31.9% — the largest increase of any city in California, and today one of the highest concentrated poverty rates in the nation.

Individuals in low-income areas are far less likely to complete high school and college. While some 16.0% of adults living outside of extreme poverty neighborhoods in Visalia-Porterville have a bachelor’s degree, just 4.5% do in the city’s extreme poverty neighborhoods.

Georgia: Macon

• Unemployment: 22.4% (poor neighborhoods) 7.9% (all other)

While nationwide the share of poor Americans living in poor neighborhoods fell from 14.0% in 2010 to 11.6% in 2016, the concentrated poverty rate in Macon rose from 30.3% to 44.7%. The 14.4 percentage-point increase was the largest of any metro area in Georgia and pushed Macon’s concentrated poverty rate from the 11th highest in the nation to third highest.

Concentrated poverty is far more common among minority populations. While just 10.5% of poor white residents in Macon live in poor neighborhoods, 58.2% of poor black residents and 44.1% of poor Hispanic residents do.

Illinois: Decatur

• Unemployment: 20.5% (poor neighborhoods) 8.6% (all other)

While nationwide the share of poor Americans living in poor neighborhoods fell from 14.0% in 2010 to 11.6% in 2016, the concentrated poverty rate in the Decatur metro area rose from 26.3% to 40.3%. The 14.1 percentage-point increase was the largest of any metro area in Illinois and pushed Decatur’s concentrated poverty rate from 23rd to seventh highest in the nation.

People living in low-income neighborhoods face a wide range of obstacles to good health, education, and economic mobility. In Decatur’s poor neighborhoods, just 9.3% of adults have a bachelor’s degree, and 20.5% of the labor force is unemployed. Outside of the city’s poor neighborhoods, 25.0% of adults have a bachelor’s degree and 8.6% of the labor force is unemployed.

Kentucky: Owensboro

• Unemployment: 18.3% (poor neighborhoods) 6.4% (all other)

While the Owensboro metro area had no extreme poverty neighborhoods several years ago, today there is one neighborhood in the city where at least 40% of residents live at or below the poverty line. Some 9.6% of the metro area’s poor population lives in the city’s extreme poverty neighborhood, one of the lower concentrated poverty rates in Kentucky yet a major increase from 2010.

Individuals in low-income areas are less likely to have access to education and employment opportunities. Just 5.3% of adults living in Owensboro’s poor neighborhoods have a bachelor’s degree, and 18.3% of the labor force is unemployed. Outside of the city’s poor neighborhoods, 19.9% of adults have a bachelor’s degree, and only 6.4% of the labor force is unemployed.

Louisiana: Monroe

• Unemployment: 16.4% (poor neighborhoods) 6.1% (all other)

The share of poor Monroe residents living in neighborhoods where at least 40% of the population earns poverty wages rose from 31.6% in 2010 to 38.2% in 2016, the largest increase of any metro area in Louisiana. Concentrated poverty is far more prevalent among minority populations. While just 9.7% of poor white residents in Monroe live in extreme poverty neighborhoods, some 55.5% of the metro area’s poor black residents live in extreme poverty neighborhoods.

Income segregation can also create large disparities in education, unemployment, and other socioeconomic indicators. Just 8.4% of adults living in Monroe’s poor neighborhoods have a bachelor’s degree, far less than the 25.6% college attainment rate in the metro area’s remaining neighborhoods.

Michigan: Jackson

• Unemployment: 19.7% (poor neighborhoods) 7.6% (all other)

Of the 38 Census tracts in the Jackson, Michigan, metro area, seven have poverty rates of 40% and above, up from five in 2010. The number of poor Jackson metro area residents living in extremely poor neighborhoods nearly doubled from 4,740 in 2010 to 8,335 in 2016.

Poorer neighborhoods are typically home to less educated populations, and the poorest parts of Jackson are no exception. Just 12.3% of adults in the metro area’s poorest neighborhoods have a bachelor’s degree, and 79.9% have a high school diploma — compared to 21.4% and 90.7% of adults in Jackson’s remaining neighborhoods.

Mississippi: Jackson

• Unemployment: 17.7% (poor neighborhoods) 7.5% (all other)

Both the poverty rate and concentrated poverty rate in Jackson, Mississippi, increased in recent years. Nearly 32% of the 110,000 Jackson residents who below the poverty line live in neighborhoods in which over 40% of the population is poor. In 2010, 25.6% of the metro area’s 101,000 residents living below the poverty line lived in extremely poor neighborhoods. Over that same period, economic growth was relatively slow in Jackson. Average annual GDP growth in the metro area was just 1% between 2010 and 2016, half the comparable national growth rate.

As is often the case in poor neighborhoods nationwide, joblessness is a considerable problem in parts of Jackson. Across the metro area’s 24 census tracts with high concentrations of poverty, 17.7% of the workforce are unemployed

The above are just a few of those impoverished communities in states that have low employment but pockets of extreme still exist.