United States

This Is the Poorest Town in West Virginia

The U.S. Census Bureau released in December the latest five-year estimates from the American Community Survey, an ongoing nationwide demographic snapshot that collects social, economic, and housing characteristics from millions of households every year.

According to the latest data, the typical American household earned an average of $69,021 over the five years ending in 2021. While this latest figure represents a modest 6% increase over estimates from the five-year period ending in 2020, for most Americans, any increase in income has been wiped out by surging inflation.

Though the consumer price index has dipped since hitting a multi-decade high of 9.1% in June 2022, inflation remains at historic highs, and Americans across the country are feeling the pinch – particularly those on the lower end of the income spectrum, without the means to absorb rising costs.

According to the latest five-year ACS data, the typical household in West Virginia earns $50,884 a year, though there are many places in the state where incomes are far lower. Of the 143 towns in the state with available data, Williamson ranks as the poorest. The typical Williamson household earns just $18,640 a year, 63.4% less than the statewide median household income.

Given the low incomes, it is not surprising that a larger than average share of residents live in poverty. The local poverty rate in the town stands at 32.9%, compared to the statewide poverty rate of 16.9%.

All data in this story are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey. For the purposes of this story, towns are defined as incorporated legal entities or census-designated statistical areas with populations between 1,000 to 25,000 people. Towns were excluded if median household income was not available in the 2021 ACS or if the sampling error associated with a town’s data was deemed too high.

StatePoorest townMedian household income in town ($)Median household income in state ($)Poverty rate in town (%)Poverty rate in state (%)Number of towns considered in stateAlabamaLivingston16,32154,94350.215.8298AlaskaAlakanuk36,42980,28742.810.470ArizonaCibecue18,23265,91366.713.5168ArkansasMarianna17,93252,12339.016.0190CaliforniaThermal14,50084,09740.212.3732ColoradoRocky Ford29,82280,18431.99.6182ConnecticutStorrs23,96483,57245.410.0128DelawareLaurel34,61572,72440.011.450FloridaGifford22,35361,77748.613.1592GeorgiaGlenwood19,62565,03013.013.9326HawaiiHawaiian Ocean View25,40288,00539.29.5114IdahoGlenns Ferry29,21963,37741.711.487IllinoisAlorton19,60572,56358.611.8621IndianaAustin27,00861,94424.012.5309IowaFayette35,68265,42925.011.0266KansasChetopa21,84364,52128.311.5188KentuckyClay City19,64355,45441.716.3218LouisianaMany18,14853,57146.218.8248MaineMachias20,33363,18238.311.0101MarylandFederalsburg31,53291,43128.49.2273MassachusettsWare43,78389,02617.49.9154MichiganBaldwin22,59363,20240.813.3382MinnesotaAurora32,28777,70624.79.2313MississippiRosedale15,95549,11152.719.4173MissouriVersailles22,78661,04329.012.8348MontanaPlains24,84460,56020.512.587NebraskaFalls City37,71266,64414.510.3115NevadaTonopah33,14465,68619.212.943New HampshireAshland33,36583,44931.77.457New JerseySalem26,66789,70337.89.8498New MexicoUniversity Park19,12554,02053.218.3141New YorkRochester Institute of Technology18,22975,15749.813.5750North CarolinaScotland Neck15,98560,51647.413.7405North DakotaNew Rockford35,59568,13111.310.750OhioLincoln Heights12,18361,93864.413.4623OklahomaWetumka24,76956,95643.015.2225OregonGrand Ronde27,46570,08433.212.1200PennsylvaniaShippensburg University18,12567,58763.811.8942Rhode IslandCentral Falls40,23574,48924.911.319South CarolinaBlackville19,58358,23435.814.5236South DakotaFort Thompson24,12563,92047.412.574TennesseeJamestown18,00058,51646.714.3272TexasCarrizo Hill9,11067,32196.914.0877UtahEast Carbon39,58379,13322.98.8135VermontWest Brattleboro36,61867,67419.410.547VirginiaJonesville17,34480,61546.99.9328WashingtonOroville32,08382,40033.210.0345West VirginiaWilliamson18,64050,88432.916.9143WisconsinLac du Flambeau26,07667,08029.910.7357WyomingFort Washakie41,94468,00230.110.752

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