Patterns of poverty in the US

Mapping census poverty data visualizes the range of poverty in the US and how it disperses within the different states. With CartoDB, we were able to compare data from five censuses 1970-2010, each census represents a decade, and find patterns of poverty in the US.

One clear pattern is South and North. Poverty, in all the maps, is predominantly centered in the South: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. The only exception in the Northern part of US is South Dakota and Montana which have constant pockets of poverty through the years.

The map for the 1980’ census shows that the number of families under the poverty line was at its highest reflecting the economy of the 70’. The map for 2000’s census is very light in color compare to the other years, as it reflects the strong economy of the 90’s:

“The fact that the U.S. economy has seen sustained and robust economic growth for the last nine years in conjunction with the explosion of the Internet has led many to conclude that the Internet is responsible for the performance of the U.S economy.. . In 2000 the U.S. economy continued expanding at annualized rates of 4.8%, 5.6% and 2.7% respectively for the first three quarters of 2000.”  (Waller, Christopher J. )

However, in 2010 census we see an increase of poverty in North Western states like Washington, Montana and Idaho, compare to all the previous censuses. This increase is due to the deep recession that started in 2007 (see  poverty in 2010 blog).

Poverty areas, according to the census data maps, increase and decrease around the constant pockets, depend on the economy at the specific period.

 

Work cited

Waller, Christopher J. “What is Really New About the ‘New’ U.S. Economy?”.  Center for Business and Economic Research, University of Kentucky. 2001