Fresno’s concentrated poverty rate is the highest in all of California

The Fresno metro area’s share of extreme poverty – neighborhoods where at least 40 percent of residents live below the poverty level – is the highest in California, according to a new analysis from the website 24/7 Wall St.

Among the metro area’s poor population, 33.2 percent live in neighborhoods where four out of 10 residents live in poverty, the analysis found. The overall poverty rate in the metro area is 24.1 percent.

Extreme poverty affects 35 out of 198 neighborhoods in Fresno, 24/7 Wall St. found. And the 2018 unemployment rate in these poor neighborhoods is 14.5 percent.

Only eight states in the nation – Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming – have no metro areas with neighborhoods affected by extreme poverty, according to the study, which incorporates data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey.

Nationwide, among the 43.5 million Americans who live under the poverty line, 9.6 percent live in communities deemed afflicted by extreme poverty. Those who reside in these high-poverty neighborhoods must deal with higher crime rates, fewer employment opportunities and lagging education options, the study found.

The poverty line in the United States stands at $12,760 in annual income for individuals, according to 24/7 Wall St. The number in poverty likely will climb due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to the analysis.

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Cities With the Most Concentrated Poverty in 2018, by State

StateMetro Area Hardest Hit by Concentrated Poverty% of Poor Who Live in Neighborhoods With Extreme PovertyOverall Poverty RateNeighborhoods With Concentrated Poverty2018 Unemployment Rate in Poor NeighborhoodsAlabamaMobile19.7%19.3%20 of 11313.9%ArizonaPhoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale13.8%14.6%49 of 9758.5%ArkansasHot Springs18.6%18.6%3 of 2015.1%CaliforniaFresno33.2%24.1%35 of 19814.5%ColoradoPueblo9.3%18.9%3 of 5316.1%ConnecticutHartford-West Hartford-East Hartford9.2%10.0%9 of 28317.0%FloridaTallahassee16.7%15.7%6 of 7518.0%GeorgiaAlbany38.2%25.2%9 of 4321.4%HawaiiUrban Honolulu5.4%8.7%3 of 22815.5%IllinoisSpringfield23.8%14.9%7 of 5612.3%IndianaMuncie29.5%18.4%6 of 2713.0%IowaWaterloo-Cedar Falls8.9%13.8%3 of 4817.5%KansasWichita7.5%13.3%5 of 15217.6%KentuckyBowling Green15.4%17.7%3 of 376.7%LouisianaMonroe34.6%23.1%10 of 4414.9%MaineBangor19.8%15.4%2 of 458.8%MarylandBaltimore-Columbia-Towson8.1%10.4%22 of 66815.6%MassachusettsSpringfield27.4%16.2%16 of 13316.2%MichiganFlint33.6%19.8%22 of 12922.7%MinnesotaDuluth13.9%14.1%6 of 846.4%MississippiJackson24.4%17.1%17 of 12719.3%MissouriCape Girardeau27.8%17.5%4 of 229.8%NebraskaLincoln14.4%12.4%4 of 736.1%NevadaLas Vegas-Henderson-Paradise5.1%14.1%10 of 48713.6%New HampshireManchester-Nashua2.9%8.1%1 of 8510.1%New JerseyTrenton17.2%11.4%5 of 7518.8%New MexicoLas Cruces25.8%27.5%6 of 4012.9%New YorkBuffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls23.4%14.2%26 of 2919.5%North CarolinaWilmington13.2%16.4%4 of 5610.9%OhioToledo29.0%16.9%27 of 16115.7%OklahomaLawton15.3%15.5%3 of 3314.1%OregonMedford2.7%16.3%1 of 4115.9%PennsylvaniaReading31.4%12.8%10 of 8921.0%Rhode IslandProvidence-Warwick4.1%12.5%5 of 35912.7%South CarolinaCharleston-North Charleston10.4%13.3%7 of 1519.6%TennesseeMemphis26.6%18.6%49 of 30915.6%TexasLaredo52.3%30.1%25 of 607.0%UtahOgden-Clearfield5.0%8.0%2 of 11610.3%VirginiaRoanoke15.5%13.4%3 of 658.6%WashingtonKennewick-Richland9.3%13.7%1 of 488.3%West VirginiaHuntington-Ashland11.1%18.6%7 of 9210.8%WisconsinMilwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis20.1%13.7%43 of 42212.0%

Source: 24/7 Wall St.

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