With inflation, less jobs, Covid, and more, is Massachusetts NEEDY?
Our friends at Wallethub, released their latest in depth report sharing the cities by rank, whose residents need the most help.
According to Wallethub:
Hunger, poverty and homelessness affect every nation — even the richest and most powerful. In 2022, 11.5% of the U.S. population lived in poverty. As we continue to deal with the economic fallout of inflation, it’s important to help our existing impoverished population and ensure we minimize the number of new people who fall into poverty.
WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 28 key indicators of economic disadvantage, such as child poverty, food insecurity and uninsured rates.
New England Cities
Eight New England cities make the list, but six, are above 100, out of 182 needy cities, #1 being the MOST needy. So having a high numbered rank means that our neck of the woods is less needy than let’s say Texas, California, or Michigan.
Interesting Stats From Wallethub
Pearl City, Hawaii, has the lowest child poverty rate, which is 16.3 times lower than in Rochester, New York, the city with the highest.
Overland Park, Kansas, has the lowest adult poverty rate, which is 6.9 times lower than in Huntington, West Virginia, the city with the highest.
Overland Park, Kansas, has the fewest homeless persons per capita, which is 77.1 times fewer than in Fresno, California, the city with the most.
Bismarck, North Dakota, has the lowest unemployment rate, which is 5.9 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest.
Fremont, California and Pearl City, Hawaii, have the lowest share of uninsured residents, which is 13.4 times lower than in Brownsville, Texas, the city with the highest.
What Cities Need The MOST Help?
Some of the cities you will see will be no surprise. But seeing Burlington Vermont at #73 was a surprise, seeing all of the wonderful things you hear about the snow country town.
Is Massachusetts NEEDY? Let’s see WHO is!
1-Detroit, MI
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It seems like Detroit still needs ALOT of work. It is the NUMBER 1 neediest city.
Detroit is the neediest city, in large part due to the fact that it has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 8.3%. Motown also has the second-highest adult poverty rate and third-highest child poverty rate in the country, with more than a quarter of adults and close to half of children living below the poverty line. While Detroit is known for its big role in the auto industry and is part of the backbone of America’s economy, its own residents are unfortunately struggling. It’s also the SECOND highest violent crime city in America.
103-Boston, MA
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Out of 182 cities, Boston ranks at 103. It actually is not a bad rank seeing that most the of cities the size of Boston are ranking MUCH higher up the list near the top.
Boston gets decent grades for “health and safety” ranking at 155, out of 182.
2-Brownsville, TX
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Coming in at #2 is Brownsville Texas.
The second-neediest city in America is Brownsville, TX, and one of the biggest contributing factors is that it lags behind other cities when it comes to education, with 32% of the population age 25+ never having graduated high school. Residents also lack the means to get easy access to continued education online, as the city ranks first when it comes to households lacking a computer and a broadband internet connection.
Brownsville unfortunately also leads the nation when it comes to the share of residents without health insurance coverage and the food insecurity rate.
3-Fresno-CA
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Fresno, CA is the third-neediest city in part due to the fact that it has the highest homelessness rate in the nation. Unfortunately, life for the city’s homeless population is difficult because the city has also instituted laws against things like begging, loitering and sleeping in public places.
Even for people in Fresno who do have housing, conditions aren’t necessarily great. The city has one of the highest rates of occupied housing units that are severely overcrowded (more than 1.5 people per room). Although Fresno is known for its agriculture, it also has a relatively high food insecurity rate, so people don’t necessarily get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
