America's 7 Poorest Cities

The poorest has a nearly 50% poverty rate
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2016 4:48 PM CDT
America's 7 Poorest Cities
Shoppers wait for the opening of the Best Buy store in Benton Harbor, Mich., Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015.   (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

You need to make $125,000 a year to hang in America's richest city, but America's poorest places are a far, far cry from that kind of money. 24/7 Wall Street looked at the median household income, median home value, percentage of adults with at minimum a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate to rank the poorest municipalities in the nation—the poorest of which has a poverty rate of nearly 50%. Without further ado:

  1. Macon, Miss.—The nation's poorest town has a 49.9% poverty rate; the median household income in Macon comes in at $18,232 and 7.7% have a bachelor's degree.
  2. Benton Harbor, Mich.—A 47.4% poverty rate; the median home value is $47,400 and just 4.5% of adults have a bachelor's degree.
  3. East St. Louis, Ill.—Boasts a 45.4% poverty rate and the median household income clocks in at $19,856.
  4. Muskegon Heights, Mich.—Holds a 44.5% poverty rate, a median home value of $45,600, and about 8% of the population has a four-year degree.
  5. East Cleveland, Ohio—A 42.1% poverty rate and a median household income of $20,660.
  6. Thomson, Ga.—A 38.3% poverty rate and a median household income of $21,211.
  7. New Tazewell, Tenn.—A 43.8% poverty rate and a median household income of $21,265.
Click for the complete list. (More poverty stories.)

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