America's Poorest Cities
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<b>Median household income:</b> $35,770<br />
<b> Percentage below poverty line:</b> 31.7% (third highest)<br />
<b> Unemployment rate:</b> 8.5% <br />
<b> Population:</b> 251,632<br />
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Located on the Rio Grande, this city serves as one of the biggest border crossings in the U.S., and is the point of entry for a large percentage of the goods that come into the country from Mexico. But while the border crossing provides certain economic benefits, it also attracts crime and drug trafficking. </p>
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<b>Median household income:</b> $35,666<br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191"><b>Percentage </b></span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191"><b>below poverty line:</b> 16.7% (148th highest)<br />
<b> Unemployment rate:</b> 10.9%<br />
<b> Population:</b> 124,257<br />
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The economy here used to be driven by the steel industry, and as recently as 2010, the area's unemployment rate was as high as 15%. Median household income in the area is about $15,000 less than the national average. Fortunately, the city sits directly atop the </span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191">Marcellus</span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191"> Shale. This vast geological formation, which stretches across several states, contains an enormous quantity of natural gas that only has become accessible </span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191">in recent years</span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191">, thanks to a drilling technique called fraccing. The natural gas boom in the greater </span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191">Marcellus</span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191"> Shale</span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191"> region has already brought 300 jobs to the area, according to ABC News, and it is expected that 10,000 more will be generated here in the next three years.</span></p>
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<b>Median household income:</b> $35,526<br />
<b> Percentage below poverty line:</b> 25.5% (13th highest)<br />
<b> Unemployment rate:</b> 7.6%<br />
<b> Population:</b> 120,365<br />
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Unemployment here is well below the U.S. average of 9.1%, but the city still has an extremely high poverty rate. According to BestPlaces, roughly 20% of households in the city earn less than $15,000 each year.</p>
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<b>Median household income:</b> $35,230<br />
<b> Percentage below poverty line:</b> 26.3% (10th highest)<br />
<b> Unemployment rate:</b> 6.5%<br />
<b> Population:</b> 210,538<br />
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The second largest city in New Mexico has one of the highest rates of people living in poverty in the country. The last ten years have seen incomes drop and the number of middle class households decline. It's located in the center of an agricultural region irrigated by the Rio Grande, but it lacks a central business district. According to the University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research, "the structure of Las Cruces' economy remains overly dependent on low-wage service industries such as retail, accommodations, and food services." </p>
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<b>Median household income:</b> $34,847<br />
<b> Percentage below poverty line:</b> 17.7% (120th highest)<br />
<b> Unemployment rate:</b> 8.6%<br />
<b> Population:</b> 103,239<br />
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The population in the city of Cumberland, situated on the West Virginia border, has declined by nearly 50% since the 1950s. A series of plant closures and factory relocations, including Pittsburgh Plate Glass and Allegany Munitions, were the primary reasons for this decline. In 1987, the Kelly Springfield Tire Plant, which was at the time the largest factory in the city, closed. </p>
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<b>Median household income:</b> $34,741<br />
<b> Percentage below poverty line:</b> 17.3% (132nd highest)<br />
<b> Unemployment rate:</b> 8.6%<br />
<b> Population:</b> 310,695<br />
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The number of people living in poverty in this <span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191">Appalachian </span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191">metropolitan area increased almost twice as fast as the national average between 2007 and 2009. It also grew at a faster rate than both Tennessee and Virginia. <a _fcksavedurl="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/person/tags/tom-casteel/" href="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/person/tags/tom-casteel/">Tom Casteel</a>, director of the<a _fcksavedurl="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/provinceorstate/tags/washington-county/" href="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/provinceorstate/tags/washington-county/">Washington County</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/organization/tags/department-of-social-services/" href="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/organization/tags/department-of-social-services/">Department of Social Services</a> in Virginia told TriCities.com that "the increase in housing prices combined with increasing <a _fcksavedurl="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/industryterm/tags/food/" href="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/industryterm/tags/food/">food</a>, gas and utility costs has led to a previously unheard of number of people coming by his office asking <a _fcksavedurl="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/industryterm/tags/food-stamps/" href="http://www2.tricities.com/topics/types/industryterm/tags/food-stamps/">about food stamps</a> and other public assistance programs." </span></p>
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<b>Median household income:</b> $34,002<br />
<b> Percentage below poverty line:</b> 27.7% (5th highest)<br />
<b> Unemployment rate:</b> 10.8%<br />
<b> Population:</b> 162,659<br />
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The ninth-largest city in the state of Georgia has the fifth-highest poverty rate in the country. In 2008, the Cooper Tire and Rubber plant, at the time one of the city's largest employers, closed, laying off more than 1,400 employees. The city's unemployment rate is substantially higher than the national average.</p>
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<b>Median household income:</b> $33,732<br />
<b> Percentage below poverty line:</b> 33.4% (2nd highest)<br />
<b> Unemployment rate:</b> 12.6%<br />
<b> Population:</b> 780,087<br />
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Located on the southern tip of Texas, this exceptionally poor area has the nation's second highest poverty rate: Nearly 30% of residents receive food stamps -- the highest rate among all metropolitan areas in the country. The area also struggles with high population growth: The number of people there has more than doubled since 1980.</p>
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<strong>Median household income:</strong> $33,446<br />
<strong>Percentage below poverty line:</strong> 22.4% (25th highest)<br />
<strong>Unemployment rate:</strong> 10.4%<br />
<strong>Population:</strong> 99,871<br />
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Pine Bluff, has a median household income about $16,600 less than the U.S. median. According to BestPlaces, nearly one in four households makes less than $15,000 each year. More than 22% of the city's residents live below the poverty line, compared to a national average of just over 15%. Morgan Quitno Press rated the Pine Bluff Metro area as the second most dangerous in the U.S., after only Detroit. </p>
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<strong>Median household income:</strong> $31,736<br />
<strong>Percentage below poverty line:</strong> 36.3% (the highest)<br />
<strong>Unemployment rate:</strong> 12.5%<br />
<strong>Population:</strong> 408,054<br />
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With a median household income more than $18,000 less than the national average. this <span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191">metropolitan</span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191"> area suffers from the worst poverty rate in the country. Located in the southern tip of Texas, along the Mexican </span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191">border, it's</span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.470576464664191"> one of America's fastest growing cities, due primarily to its high rate of immigration. The high school graduation rate is exceptionally low -- only 53%.</span></p>
