Poverty numbers not good for South

Sep 14, 2011

The new Census numbers on poverty are in this week and they’re not good for Southern States. (See the Census numbers | Read the full report).

In fact, more people in the United States are living in poverty — some 46.2 million Americans — than ever recorded in the 52 years that the Census has been publishing results, according to the lead story in today’s issue of The New York Times.

Of the 10 states with the highest rates of poverty, 10 are in the South:

1. Mississippi, 664,000 people, 22.7 percent of the state’s population (highest rate in the U.S.)

2.  Louisiana, 958,000 people, 21.6 percent

3. Georgia, 1.836 million people, 18.7  percent

7. Kentucky, 758,000 people, 17.7 percent

8. North Carolina, 1.61 million people, 17.4 percent

9. Alabama, 808,000 people, 17.3 percent

10. South Carolina, 767,000 people, 17 percent

12. Tennessee, 1.05 million people, 16.7 percent

17. Florida, 2.962 million people, 16 percent

19. Arkansas, 445,000 people, 15.5 milion people

41. Virginia, 832,000 people, 10.7 percent

More: Excel spreadsheet of numbers, US Census