Rochester remains fifth poorest city in U.S.
An analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday for the most recent five-year period shows that the City of Rochester’s poverty rate continues to rise.
Data from the new American Community Survey for the years 2010 through 2014 shows:
- Rochester’s overall poverty rate increased slightly from 32.9 percent to 33.8 percent.
- Rochester’s child poverty rate increased markedly, from 50.1 percent to 52.5 percent.
- The city’s rate of extreme poverty (below half the federal poverty line) grew slightly from 16.2 percent to 16.4 percent.
- Rochester remains the 5th poorest city in the United States among the top 75 metropolitan areas.
These new statistics update a January 2015 report by ACT Rochester and Rochester Area Community Foundation that compared the city’s poverty rate to similar-sized cities across the country and the top 75 metro areas. It used the data from the Census Bureau’s five-year American Community Survey for 2009 to 2013. The five-year survey is considered the most reliable and precise because it is based on a larger sample.
Among these 10 poorest U.S. cities, Rochester also ranks 4th for its childhood poverty rate and 5th for the rate of people living in extreme poverty.
Rank By Poverty Rate
- Detroit
- Cleveland
- Dayton
- Hartford
- Rochester
- Birmingham
- Buffalo
- Cincinnati
- Miami
- Providence
