Towns in North Carolina Experiencing The Most People Living in Poverty
Poverty continues to be a pressing issue in the United States. Over the last three decades, anywhere between 31.6 million and 48.8 million Americans have lived below the poverty line, with the U.S. poverty rate fluctuating between 11.7% and 16.3%.
Poverty affects more than just finances. 247wallst referenced the U.S. Census Bureau Pulse Survey, which found that 38% of adults earning less than $25,000 report feeling depressed or hopeless most days, compared to 17% of all adults. Furthermore, 27% of low-income adults have experienced food insecurity, triple the rate of the general population.
In North Carolina, where the poverty line is $15,060 for individuals and $31,200 for a family of four, 13.3% of the population lives below these thresholds. In many towns, the situation is worse.
Using five-year estimates from the Census 2022 American Community Survey, 24/7 Wall St. identified the towns in North Carolina with the highest poverty rates.
Here are some towns in the state with the highest poverty rates:
- Forest City
- Laurinburg
- Williamston
- Roxboro
- Mount Airy
- Reidsville
- Lumberton
- Siler City
- Kinston
- Rockingham
Based on the 2022 Census data, towns like Forest City, Laurinburg, and Williamston have poverty rates ranging from 32% to 38.9%, with unemployment rates surpassing the state’s average of 5%.
Low educational attainment in these areas compounds the problem, with fewer adults holding bachelor’s degrees, limiting access to higher-paying jobs.
Despite the U.S.’s global economic influence, poverty remains a deep-rooted issue, affecting mental health, social well-being, and overall life expectancy for millions of Americans.
In North Carolina, towns with high poverty rates highlight the ongoing challenges of economic inequality.
Photo by Business North Carolina
If not attaining a good education is the problem, then aren’t the people in poverty causing their own problems? Now if the education system is the problem than why don’t we fix that?
I don’t want my child going to any schools because of all the Mass shootings. So therefore, it’s not the education parse.
This is very sad. Many people are stuck in a family legacy where they haven’t learned or were not expected to get an education. They learn this is the way life is. There should be advocates for these peope, kind of like life coaches, to help them navigate the world in a way that will help them grow, learn and prosper. Perhaps through the schools when they’re young, or training through a church; anything to help!
Lack of truly applying yourself in education and work ethic caused this….
Having babies without an education or work ethic drastically increased the numbers in poverty over the last 60 years…
You can show them, tell them and teach them…
They simply don’t have it in them to do anything to change their circumstances…
Government hand outs make it even worse….
Some 55 years ago we figured out how to get a man on the moon and today 55 years later we got a population of fowl mouthed people that don’t know how to properly wear their pants…
I hate to agree with you, but, I do. Then, there are those who simply do not have the wherewithal, I.e. low IQ, being ignored, overlooked, most or all of their lives. The latter is also a learned lack of sense of self worth. Even if the young of some of these were removed from the situation, housed, clothed, nurtured, loved, assisted in acquiring new learning skills, praised for achievement, it would probably be generations of that before a change would take place in the individuals. Their coping mechanisms have simply never been set in place. It is sad, indeed. Each of these communities needs someone who is like Them, albeit white, black, Hispanic, Native American, to live within the community, set up a non-political, non-religious, (although a lot of prayer would be needed😉) facility where the people could gather, could get help in understanding that life can be more that mere survival, and that they deserve to feel good about themselves. When in survival mode, “self” is non-existent. They need a place where basic skills can be taught, how to keep and prepare food properly, how to clean a home, how to sew, (by hand), how to plant a garden and care for it. A garden could be at this facility and, anyone participating in caring for it, gets food for free. There are so many ways to begin to change the mindset of these people. Unfortunately, drugs, alcohol have become their only source of solace. …Yet another, and probably greatest source of the cycle today.😖🥹…I know, without government funding, this is all a fantasy. With government funding, it just becomes another handout and people who do not understand the roots to the earth, or basic survival skills, or the history of these people, or their mental INcapacities, or their level of suspicion of strangers, or anything, for that matter, about those living is poverty.
A higher education is frowned upon in Old Fort, N.C.. It’s more harmful than helpful in aquiring a good job.