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America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers
Many U.S. Counties Had High Poverty Rates Over 20 Years
In 309 or almost 10% of U.S. counties, mostly in the South, poverty rates stayed at 20% or more for two decades, according to the recently released American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.
The latest ACS release allows us to compare changes in poverty rates in most of the nation’s 3,144 counties and county equivalents in five-year periods over the span of 20 years: 2005-2009; 2010-2014; 2015-2019; and 2020-2024.
In this analysis, counties are considered in sustained poverty if their poverty rates remained at 20% or higher in each of the four nonoverlapping 5-year periods.
Nationally, about 33% of counties had at least one 5-year period of high poverty (20% or more) — including more than half of all counties in the South. These counties account for around 16% of U.S. population.
Continue reading to learn more about:
- How poverty is measured
- How county poverty rates have changed over time
- Sustained poverty by state
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