The Geography of Desperation in America

This report and interactive maps from the Brookings Institution illustrate how geography affects people’s sense of hope about their futures. Without hope, people can suffer from health problems and substance abuse issues that shorten lifespans. The researchers are attempting to see where low-income white and minority individuals are the least optimistic about the future. Three different sets of interactive maps show how each state rates on optimism, worry, and pain for poor non-Hispanic white individuals and poor minorities. Overall, minorities fared worse on all three measures in states with lower minority populations, and white individuals fared worse in Appalachian states and in the heartland.