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Published February 15, 2021
The Center Square –
The Memphis metro area’s share of extreme poverty – neighborhoods where at least 40% of residents live below the poverty level – is the highest in Tennessee, according to a new analysis from the website 24/7 Wall St.
Among the metro area’s poor population, 26.6% live in neighborhoods where four out of 10 residents live in poverty, the analysis found. The overall poverty rate in the metro area is 18.6%.
Extreme poverty affects 49 out of 309 neighborhoods in Memphis, 24/7 Wall St. found. And the 2018 unemployment rate in these poor neighborhoods is 15.6%.
Only eight states in the nation – Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming – have no metro areas with neighborhoods affected by extreme poverty, according to the study, which incorporates data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey.
Nationwide, among the 43.5 million Americans who live under the poverty line, 9.6% live in communities deemed afflicted by extreme poverty. Those who reside in these high-poverty neighborhoods must deal with higher crime rates, fewer employment opportunities and lagging education options, the study found.
The poverty line in the United States stands at $12,760 in annual income for individuals, according to 24/7 Wall St. The number in poverty likely will climb due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to the analysis.
Cities With the Most Concentrated Poverty in 2018, by State:
| State | Metro Area Hardest Hit by Concentrated Poverty | % of Poor Who Live in Neighborhoods With Extreme Poverty | Overall Poverty Rate | Neighborhoods With Concentrated Poverty | 2018 Unemployment Rate in Poor Neighborhoods |
| Alabama | Mobile | 19.7% | 19.3% | 20 of 113 | 13.9% |
| Arizona | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale | 13.8% | 14.6% | 49 of 975 | 8.5% |
| Arkansas | Hot Springs | 18.6% | 18.6% | 3 of 20 | 15.1% |
| California | Fresno | 33.2% | 24.1% | 35 of 198 | 14.5% |
| Colorado | Pueblo | 9.3% | 18.9% | 3 of 53 | 16.1% |
| Connecticut | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford | 9.2% | 10.0% | 9 of 283 | 17.0% |
| Florida | Tallahassee | 16.7% | 15.7% | 6 of 75 | 18.0% |
| Georgia | Albany | 38.2% | 25.2% | 9 of 43 | 21.4% |
| Hawaii | Urban Honolulu | 5.4% | 8.7% | 3 of 228 | 15.5% |
| Illinois | Springfield | 23.8% | 14.9% | 7 of 56 | 12.3% |
| Indiana | Muncie | 29.5% | 18.4% | 6 of 27 | 13.0% |
| Iowa | Waterloo-Cedar Falls | 8.9% | 13.8% | 3 of 48 | 17.5% |
| Kansas | Wichita | 7.5% | 13.3% | 5 of 152 | 17.6% |
| Kentucky | Bowling Green | 15.4% | 17.7% | 3 of 37 | 6.7% |
| Louisiana | Monroe | 34.6% | 23.1% | 10 of 44 | 14.9% |
| Maine | Bangor | 19.8% | 15.4% | 2 of 45 | 8.8% |
| Maryland | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | 8.1% | 10.4% | 22 of 668 | 15.6% |
| Massachusetts | Springfield | 27.4% | 16.2% | 16 of 133 | 16.2% |
| Michigan | Flint | 33.6% | 19.8% | 22 of 129 | 22.7% |
| Minnesota | Duluth | 13.9% | 14.1% | 6 of 84 | 6.4% |
| Mississippi | Jackson | 24.4% | 17.1% | 17 of 127 | 19.3% |
| Missouri | Cape Girardeau | 27.8% | 17.5% | 4 of 22 | 9.8% |
| Nebraska | Lincoln | 14.4% | 12.4% | 4 of 73 | 6.1% |
| Nevada | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise | 5.1% | 14.1% | 10 of 487 | 13.6% |
| New Hampshire | Manchester-Nashua | 2.9% | 8.1% | 1 of 85 | 10.1% |
| New Jersey | Trenton | 17.2% | 11.4% | 5 of 75 | 18.8% |
| New Mexico | Las Cruces | 25.8% | 27.5% | 6 of 40 | 12.9% |
| New York | Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls | 23.4% | 14.2% | 26 of 291 | 9.5% |
| North Carolina | Wilmington | 13.2% | 16.4% | 4 of 56 | 10.9% |
| Ohio | Toledo | 29.0% | 16.9% | 27 of 161 | 15.7% |
| Oklahoma | Lawton | 15.3% | 15.5% | 3 of 33 | 14.1% |
| Oregon | Medford | 2.7% | 16.3% | 1 of 41 | 15.9% |
| Pennsylvania | Reading | 31.4% | 12.8% | 10 of 89 | 21.0% |
| Rhode Island | Providence-Warwick | 4.1% | 12.5% | 5 of 359 | 12.7% |
| South Carolina | Charleston-North Charleston | 10.4% | 13.3% | 7 of 151 | 9.6% |
| Tennessee | Memphis | 26.6% | 18.6% | 49 of 309 | 15.6% |
| Texas | Laredo | 52.3% | 30.1% | 25 of 60 | 7.0% |
| Utah | Ogden-Clearfield | 5.0% | 8.0% | 2 of 116 | 10.3% |
| Virginia | Roanoke | 15.5% | 13.4% | 3 of 65 | 8.6% |
| Washington | Kennewick-Richland | 9.3% | 13.7% | 1 of 48 | 8.3% |
| West Virginia | Huntington-Ashland | 11.1% | 18.6% | 7 of 92 | 10.8% |
| Wisconsin | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis | 20.1% | 13.7% | 43 of 422 | 12.0% |
2 Responses
Just look at and listen to the village idiots running the politics of Memphis and we need say no more….And yet the sheeple keep voting these same liars and thieves back in to office again and again. They reap what they sow!!
What a surprise! A metro area run by Democrats with extreme poverty levels. I’m so surprised you could knock me over with an anvil. Keep voting the same way, Memphians, you’ll surely get a different result eventually.