Government
Where America's Poverty Has Shifted
Rural-to-urban population moves have changed the landscape of the poor in the last 50 years.
The American South has become less poor than it was in the past, while the West has seen a rise in poverty, according to a new analysis of Census data by the Pew Research Center.
In 1960, almost half of America’s poor (49 percent) lived in the South. By 2010, that number was at 41 percent—still a substantial share, but considerably less than before. Meanwhile, the West’s share of the nation’s low-income population climbed from 11 percent in 1960 to 23 percent in 2010.