Rural Poverty

Aerial view of small town of Hiawatha, Kansas

New Book Analyzes America’s Poorest Communities

The similarities between the nation’s most disadvantaged areas, often rural, reveal the economic patterns that lead to chronic poverty.

October 6, 2023 - The Daily Yonder

Vacant Properties

The Legacy of Structural Poverty in Alabama

In rural Alabama, a long history of racial inequality and poverty has left people struggling to survive in uninhabitable housing.

November 18, 2020 - The New York Times

Bringing the Rural Housing Crisis to Light

Advocates for housing and quality of life in rural communities face an uphill battle in gaining attention, much less funding, to fight the problem.

January 29, 2015 - The Atlantic

From Breadbasket to Food Desert

The rural Midwest produces much of our nation's food supply, and yet small towns in the heartland and around America are increasingly and ironically becoming food deserts - places where citizens have little access to fresh, healthy foods.

January 25, 2011 - Grist

Rural America Still Leads Nation in Poverty

Despite gains in the 1990s, the last decade has seen jumps in poverty in rural areas, where rates continue to exceed the national average.

November 24, 2009 - The Daily Yonder

Rural U.S. Hit Hardest By Gas Prices

Gas prices have just surpassed the $4 mark, but the impact is far from uniform throughout the nation- poor, rural counties, particularly in the south and west, suffer disproportionately.

June 11, 2008 - The New York Times

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