Poverty Across America: Comparisons

Observing Change

Poverty on the west coast changed drastically during the recession from 2008 to 2012. The most prominent location in which poverty improved on the west coast is Eureka County in Nevada. Most counties, however, illustrated an increase in poverty. Two counties that show a drastic increase in poverty percentages are Navajo County, New Mexico and Malheur County, Oregon.

Regarding the southwest, in general poverty in Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Tennessee worsened from to 2008 to 2012. We can see the economic conditions regress in these states by observing the lighter colors in 2008 that become darker in 2012. By scrolling over the counties in this general area, we can spot specific counties in which poverty percentages increased such as Madison Parish County. On the contrary, poverty in Western Texas improved, specifically in Brewster County and Jeff Davis County.

Throughout the four year progression of the recession, the East coast experienced a variety of economic changes. The northeast saw more depleting poverty percentages by county than increasing poverty percentages. Most notably counties in Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire saw poverty percentages decrease from 2008 to 2012. On the contrary, the southern region of the east coast experienced worsening economic conditions with poverty percentages increasing and spreading across states. The spread of poverty is most apparent in the Carolinas and Georgia. Conditions worsen throughout Florida’s counties as well, but not as drastically.

The trend of poverty in the midwest from 2008 to 2012 was similar to the conditions of the southern east coast. Some states saw economic improvement while most had their counties increase poverty populations and percentages. Michigan as a whole suffered the most drastic increase in poverty. Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota retained their groups of highly impoverished counties although the percentages of poverty per those counties (Corson, Sioux, Ziebach, Jackson, and Shannon) has decreased, the improvement isn’t significant enough to be noticeable on the poverty map.

Observing Economic Change from 2008 to 2009