The Laredo metro area’s share of extreme poverty – neighborhoods where at least 40 percent of residents live below the poverty level – is the highest in Texas, according to a new analysis from the website 24/7 Wall St.
Among the metro area’s poor population, 54.2 percent live in neighborhoods where four out of 10 residents live in poverty, the analysis found. The overall poverty rate in the metro area is 31.5 percent.
Extreme poverty affects 27 out of 60 neighborhoods in Laredo, 24/7 Wall St. found. And the unemployment rate in these regions is 7.2 percent.
Only five states in the nation – Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, North Dakota 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.
Residents of the high-poverty neighborhoods are 50 percent less likely to be homeowners or have a college education compared to other neighborhoods, 24/7 Wall St. reported. And residents are twice as likely to be jobless than those who live in more affluent areas, the study said.
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Cities With the Most Concentrated Poverty, by State
| State | Metro Area | Concentrated Poverty Rate (as % of Poor Population) | Overall Poverty Rate | Neighborhoods With Concentrated Poverty | Jobless Rate in Poor Neighborhoods |
| Alabama | Mobile | 20.6% | 19.3% | 18 out of 113 | 14.4% |
| Arizona | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale | 17.5% | 15.7% | 64 out of 976 | 10.1% |
| Arkansas | Hot Springs | 13.7% | 19.1% | 2 out of 20 | 13.4% |
| California | Visalia-Porterville | 31.1% | 27.1% | 15 out of 78 | 14.9% |
| Colorado | Pueblo | 14.8% | 19.8% | 4 out of 53 | 12.2% |
| Connecticut | New Haven-Milford | 14.4% | 12.1% | 11 out of 186 | 17.2% |
| Florida | Gainesville | 21.6% | 23.1% | 8 out of 53 | 6.1% |
| Georgia | Albany | 43.6% | 25.7% | 10 out of 43 | 25% |
| Hawaii | Urban Honolulu | 2.1% | 9.1% | 3 out of 228 | 12.6% |
| Idaho | Pocatello | 8.9% | 17.6% | 1 out of 21 | 5.3% |
| Illinois | Decatur | 32.1% | 16.6% | 6 out of 34 | 19.8% |
| Indiana | Fort Wayne | 23.5% | 14.1% | 11 out of 108 | 13.1% |
| Iowa | Dubuque | 10% | 11.9% | 1 out of 26 | 4% |
| Kansas | Wichita | 9.7% | 13.9% | 7 out of 152 | 15.9% |
| Kentucky | Bowling Green | 23.8% | 18.7% | 5 out of 37 | 6.7% |
| Louisiana | Monroe | 35.4% | 24.2% | 11 out of 44 | 15.5% |
| Maine | Bangor | 19% | 15.9% | 2 out of 45 | 11.6% |
| Maryland | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | 8.8% | 10.5% | 26 out of 668 | 13.3% |
| Massachusetts | Springfield | 26.1% | 16.4% | 15 out of 133 | 18% |
| Michigan | Flint | 38.1% | 20.0% | 26 out of 129 | 23.2% |
| Minnesota | St. Cloud | 20.1% | 13.3% | 1 out of 37 | 7.2% |
| Mississippi | Jackson | 26.2% | 18.5% | 21 out of 127 | 16.7% |
| Missouri | Cape Girardeau | 30.4% | 19.1% | 5 out of 22 | 12.2% |
| Montana | Great Falls | 11.2% | 13.1% | 1 out of 22 | 5% |
| Nebraska | Lincoln | 15.8% | 12% | 6 out of 73 | 7.4% |
| Nevada | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise | 6.5% | 14.6% | 13 out of 487 | 15.7% |
| New Jersey | Atlantic City-Hammonton | 23.9% | 15.3% | 9 out of 68 | 17.4% |
| New Mexico | Las Cruces | 26.3% | 27.9% | 6 out of 40 | 13.4% |
| New York | Elmira | 30% | 15.8% | 4 out of 22 | 8.3% |
| North Carolina | Greenville | 17.9% | 24.3% | 3 out of 29 | 13.2% |
| Ohio | Youngstown-Warren-Boardman | 27.7% | 16.7% | 23 out of 155 | 18.5% |
| Oklahoma | Lawton | 19.2% | 16.6% | 4 out of 33 | 12.5% |
| Oregon | Medford | 7.5% | 16.7% | 2 out of 41 | 14.6% |
| Pennsylvania | Reading | 28.1% | 13.6% | 9 out of 89 | 22.7% |
| Rhode Island | Providence-Warwick | 4.9% | 13% | 9 out of 359 | 11% |
| South Carolina | Charleston-North Charleston | 11.1% | 13.9% | 8 out of 151 | 9.6% |
| Tennessee | Memphis | 28.4% | 18.9% | 52 out of 309 | 16.3% |
| Texas | Laredo | 54.2% | 31.5% | 27 out of 60 | 7.2% |
| Utah | Ogden-Clearfield | 6.5% | 8.7% | 3 out of 116 | 14.9% |
| Vermont | Burlington-South Burlington | 10.9% | 10.4% | 1 out of 45 | 8.1% |
| Virginia | Richmond | 10.1% | 12.4% | 11 out of 290 | 14.5% |
| Washington | Longview | 23.8% | 16.9% | 4 out of 24 | 12.9% |
| West Virginia | Huntington-Ashland | 14.2% | 18.8% | 8 out of 92 | 12.3% |
| Wisconsin | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis | 23.5% | 14.5% | 49 out of 422 | 15.1% |
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
This article was first published by The Center Square.
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