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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Suburban Poverty in the US

  • The rise of suburban poverty in America, By Josh Sanburn, July 31, 2014, Time: “Colorado Springs is often included on lists of the best places to live in America thanks to its 250 days of sun a year, world-class ski resorts and relatively high home values. But over the last decade, its suburbs have attained a less honorable distinction: they’ve experienced some of the largest increases in suburban poverty rates. The suburbs surrounding Colorado Springs now have seven Census tracts with 20% or more residents in poverty, according to a report released Thursday by the Brookings Institution. In 2000, it had none. In those neighborhoods, 35% of residents are now considered to be below the poverty line, defined as a family of four making $23,492 or less in 2012…”
  • Poverty consolidated and spread to the suburbs during the 2000s, report finds, By Niraj Chokshi, July 31, 2014, Washington Post: “Poverty is concentrating and spreading, according to a new Brookings Institution report. The report, which uses neighborhood-level Census data to track changes in the poor population between 2000 and the 2008 to 2012 period covering the Great Recession and its aftermath, finds that poverty increasingly concentrated, imposing what author Elizabeth Kneebone described as ‘double burden’ on the poor…”