Buffalo named third-poorest city in U.S.
Business First of Buffalo - by G. Scott Thomas
Nearly a third of Buffalo's residents eke out an existence below the poverty level, making it the third-poorest city in America, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released Tuesday morning.
The 2008 American Community Survey found that 30.3 percent of the people living in Buffalo were beneath the federal poverty line last year.
The official poverty threshold varies, depending on the size of a household and the ages of its members. The line for a family of two adults and two children, for example, was $21,834 in 2008.
Detroit is the poorest city in America, with 33.3 percent of its residents below the poverty level. Cleveland comes second at 30.5 percent, and Buffalo is the only other major city above 30 percent.
Anchorage has the lowest poverty rate among the nation's major cities, defined as those with populations of 250,000 or more. Just 6.4 percent of Anchorage's residents were living in poverty a year ago.
The American Community Survey is an annual program designed to generate data during the years between the Census Bureau's decennial headcounts. The bureau has been releasing 2008 ACS data in stages this month.
The following are the 75 cities in America with at least 250,000 residents, ranked according to their 2008 poverty rates:
- 1. Detroit, 33.3% in poverty
- 2. Cleveland, 30.5% in poverty
- 3. Buffalo, 30.3% in poverty
- 4. Newark, 26.1% in poverty
- 5. Miami, 25.6% in poverty
- 6. Fresno, 25.5% in poverty
- 7. Cincinnati, 25.1% in poverty
- 8. Toledo, 24.7% in poverty
- 9. El Paso, 24.3% in poverty
- 10. Philadelphia, 24.1% in poverty
- 11. Milwaukee, 23.4% in poverty
- 12. Memphis, 23.1% in poverty
- 13. St. Louis, 22.9% in poverty
- 14. Dallas, 22.6% in poverty
- 14. New Orleans, 22.6% in poverty
- 16. Atlanta, 22.4% in poverty
- 17. Stockton, Calif., 21.6% in poverty
- 18. Minneapolis, 21.3% in poverty
- 19. Pittsburgh, 21.2% in poverty
- 20. Tucson, 20.9% in poverty
- 21. Chicago, 20.6% in poverty
- 22. Columbus, Ohio, 20.1% in poverty
- 23. Long Beach, Calif., 19.8% in poverty
- 24. Houston, 19.5% in poverty
- 25. Los Angeles, 19.4% in poverty
- 26. Baltimore, 19.3% in poverty
- 27. San Antonio, 19.2% in poverty
- 28. Phoenix, 18.9% in poverty
- 29. Boston, 18.7% in poverty
- 30. Denver, 18.4% in poverty
- 30. St. Paul, 18.4% in poverty
- 32. Tulsa, 18.3% in poverty
- 33. New York City, 18.2% in poverty
- 34. Tampa, 17.8% in poverty
- 35. Santa Ana, Calif., 17.6% in poverty
- 36. Nashville, 17.5% in poverty
- 36. Oakland, 17.5% in poverty
- 38. Corpus Christi, Texas, 17.2% in poverty
- 38. Washington, 17.2% in poverty
- 40. Austin, 17.0% in poverty
- 41. Bakersfield, Calif., 16.7% in poverty
- 42. Fort Worth, 16.6% in poverty
- 43. Indianapolis, 16.4% in poverty
- 43. Kansas City, 16.4% in poverty
- 43. Oklahoma City, 16.4% in poverty
- 46. Greensboro, 16.2% in poverty
- 47. Louisville, 16.1% in poverty
- 47. Sacramento, 16.1% in poverty
- 49. Lexington, Ky., 15.6% in poverty
- 50. Aurora, Colo., 15.4% in poverty
- 51. Albuquerque, 15.0% in poverty
- 51. Omaha, 15.0% in poverty
- 53. Portland, Ore., 14.4% in poverty
- 53. San Diego, 14.4% in poverty
- 55. Glendale, Ariz., 14.3% in poverty
- 55. Wichita, 14.3% in poverty
- 57. Fort Wayne, Ind., 13.5% in poverty
- 57. Riverside, Calif., 13.5% in poverty
- 59. Raleigh, 13.3% in poverty
- 60. Anaheim, Calif., 13.1% in poverty
- 61. Las Vegas, 12.6% in poverty
- 62. Charlotte, 12.0% in poverty
- 63. Jacksonville, 11.9% in poverty
- 64. Colorado Springs, 11.8% in poverty
- 64. Lincoln, Neb., 11.8% in poverty
- 66. Mesa, Ariz., 11.7% in poverty
- 67. Seattle, 11.6% in poverty
- 68. Arlington, Texas, 11.3% in poverty
- 69. San Francisco, 11.0% in poverty
- 70. Honolulu, 10.8% in poverty
- 71. San Jose, 8.9% in poverty
- 72. Henderson, Nev., 7.5% in poverty
- 73. Plano, Texas, 6.7% in poverty
- 74. Virginia Beach, 6.5% in poverty
- 75. Anchorage, 6.4% in poverty
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