G’ana among state’s poorest
BY MOLLIE S. WATERS
The Greenville Standard
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the poverty level in the United States has declined, but it continues to be an issue.
“The official poverty rate in 2016 was 12.7 percent, down 0.8 percentage points from 13.5 percent in 2015,” states the census.gov website. “This is the second consecutive annual decline in poverty. Since 2014, the poverty rate has fallen 2.1 percentage points from 14.8 percent to 12.7 percent.”
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, poverty thresholds depend on the number of people in a family and income. For a home with two adults and two children, the threshold is a total income of $24,339 per year.
The average income in Alabama is $44,758, but unfortunately, many households do not come anywhere near reaching that mark, which is why Alabama is one of the poorest states in the United States.
Using U.S. Census Bureau findings, AL.com recently reported on the 50 poorest communities in Alabama.
According to their findings, Georgiana came in at number 22. The report listed Georgiana as having 1,738 residents with a median income of just $19,920 per year.
While Georgiana was the only community from Butler County to make the list, neighboring Crenshaw, Monroe, Conecuh, Lowndes and Wilcox Counties each had communities in the list, including at the number one spot.
From Crenshaw County, the community of Dozier made the list at number 32.
Monroe County had three communities on the list. At number 50 was Uriah while Frisco City came in at 13. Beatrice was listed at number 5.
Conecuh County also had three on the list. Repton was 39, Evergreen was 12, and Castleberry was 9.
Lowndes County had four communities make the list: Hayneville number 24, Whitehall number 20, Gordonville number 19, and Mosses number 7.
Wilcox also had four communities on the list: Pine Apple at 40, Yellow Bluff at 10, Boykin at 2, and Oak Hill at 1.
According to AL.com, “The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey includes 2016 median household income for every city, town or Census Designated Place in Alabama.”
For the remaining top 50 poorest communities in Alabama, visit the AL.com website. For additional information about the U. S. Census Bureau reports, visit census.gov.
