Child Poverty Higher and More Persistent in Rural America

This brief from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy examines the persistence of high child poverty rates (20 percent or greater) between 1980 and 2010, indicates that the incidence of high child poverty is growing nationwide, and shows that it is most prevalent in rural America. Approximately 28 percent of all rural children live in persistently poor counties, compared to 13 percent of urban children. In 1980, 24 percent of urban counties and 43 percent of rural counties had high child poverty rates. These rates rose to 32 and 56 percent respectively by 1990, but had returned to 1980 levels by 2000. However, the 2010 rates were much higher, indicating that 47 percent of urban counties and 64 percent of rural counties were characterized by high child poverty rates.