Here’s The Poorest, Most Financially Disadvantaged County In New York State
Inflation is causing financial hardships for many New Yorkers, but there is one county that has been hit hard year after year. The gap between the poor and the wealthy seems to be widening all around New York State,
According to the Chamber of Commerce,
2 of the richest states, New York and Alaska, have higher poverty rates than one would expect, indicating an above-average wealth inequality gap between the states’ richest and poorest citizens. New York, the 3rd richest state, is also marked by a poverty rate that’s high in relation to other variables: its rate of 11.8% is around the national average.
Even though New York is the third richest state in the U.S., poverty seems to be getting worse, not just in New York. The average three-year poverty rate for New York State from 2018 to 2020 was 11.8 percent, according to the Census. Of the 62 counties in New York State, this if the number one county, according to data from 2020.
The Number 1 Poorest County In New York State Is Bronx County
Home of the Borough of the Bronx, the county, has 333,670 residents living in poverty. Bronx County has a poverty rate of 24.4 percent. The median household income is $44,906.
Bronx County was the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated. Although the Bronx is the third most densely populated county in the U.S., about a quarter of its area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo.
Bronx most likely makes up a significant portion of food stamp recipients in the 5-borough area of New York City. The NYC area ranks number 1 for food stamps. Approximately 21% residents in NYC get SNAP benefits. You can check out the other four counties with the most food stamp recipients here.
Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.