Data Snapshot on High-Poverty Communities

 
Graphic courtesy of the Annie E. Casey Foundation

 

A new KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot from the Annie E. Casey Foundation indicates that nearly 8 million, or 11 percent, of the nation’s children live in high-poverty areas. High poverty areas are communities in which at least 30 percent of residents of live below the federal poverty threshold—$22,314 per year for a family of four.

The chance that a child will live in an area of concentrated poverty has surged in the last decade. Since 2000, there has been a 25 percent increase in the number of children living in high-poverty communities. These disadvantaged communities are associated with undesirable outcomes for children; research shows that growing up in a high-poverty neighborhood can affect a child's ability to succeed in school and can undermine a child's chances of adult economic security.

The report highlights the children most likely to live in areas of concentrated poverty. Overall, children living in rural areas and large cities are more likely than those in the suburbs to live in high-poverty neighborhoods. States with the highest rates of children are Mississippi (23 percent), New Mexico (20 percent) and Louisiana (18 percent). Among the country's largest cities, Detroit (67 percent) Cleveland (43 percent) and Miami (49 percent) have the highest rates of kids living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Additionally, African American, American Indian and Latino children are six to nine times more likely to live in areas of concentrated poverty than their white peers.

The data, which can be found at the KIDS COUNT Data Center, are from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The Data Center allows users to create rankings, maps and graphs.
 

Media Coverage Round-Up: JCCF's collection of media coverage of this new report. 

Read the report.