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.

1 minute read

November 24, 2009, 12:00 PM PST

By Alek Miller


"The increase in the number of poor Americans was heavily weighted in rural communities. Rural counties were home to just over 16% of the nation's population in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But 33% of the increase in the number of poor Americans from '03 to ‘08 - more than one million people - was found in rural counties.

As a result, the gap between the poverty rates in urban and rural America widened, doubling between 2003 and 2008."

Monday, November 23, 2009 in The Daily Yonder

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