2010-10-20 09:57:49
Tue Oct 19, 9:54 am ET
Thanks to the recession, 2009 was one of the worst years for poverty in America
in more than half a century. The total number of Americans living in poverty
hit 43.6 million, the highest level in 51 years and the national poverty rate
rose to 14.3 percent from 13.2 percent, according to data released last month
by the Census Bureau.
All told, one in seven Americans are living in poverty. To visualize America's
startling rise in poverty, Mint, the personal finance site, put together this
interactive chart of regional poverty rates.
Among the hardest-hit states are Louisiana, Mississippi and certain areas of
Texas. States with the lowest poverty statistics include Wyoming, Hawaii,
Minnesota and several East Coast states. (See: List of the poorest states in
America.)
Though suburban areas are now home to one-third of America's poor, large cities
have not been immune to the effects of the recession. Residents of cities like
New York, Los Angeles and Miami have seen some of the biggest drops in personal
income in the last year.
Crippling poverty rates in many of America's hardest-hit regions have been
accompanied by several other disturbing trends for the middle class. Income
inequality hit an all-time high before the recession, according University of
California, Berkeley, economist Emmanuel Saez. States, faced with an estimated
budget shortfall of $380 billion for 2011, have started to cut crucial services
and have laid off thousands of workers.
Growing layoffs last year caused millions of Americans to lose
employee-provided health insurance, leaving 16.7 percent of Americans with no
health insurance, the highest level since the Census started collecting the
data in 1987.
As income levels have been ravaged in areas particularly tied to the housing
boom, some have speculated that industries like construction may never return
to their pre-crisis levels.