Rural Child Poverty Rates Often Higher than Urban


Last Updated: October 10, 2008
 

This article appeared in the October 2008 Rural Policy Matters

Rural child poverty rates far exceed suburban child poverty rates in every state except Connecticut, and on average rival central city child poverty rates nationwide, according to an analysis of new data from the U.S. Census Bureau performed by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.

A child living in rural areas is more likely to live in poverty than one who lives in the central cities in 19 states. In three more states there are not enough rural communities to make a comparison. The rural child poverty rates are about double the central city rates in Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming, more than twenty percent higher in Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota, and more than 10 percent higher in North Carolina, North Dakota, and Oregon. The overall rural child poverty rates exceed 30% percent in Mississippi (35.1), Louisiana (33.9) and Arizona (31.1).

Read more from the October 2008 Rural Policy Matters.