Poverty Rates in Delaware
Inner Cities do not Share in the State's Prosperity
With a poverty rate of 9.6%, Delaware has the 42nd highest poverty rate in the nation.
This is just slightly better than the poverty rate of Massachusetts, and just slightly higher than the poverty rate of Virginia.
Where the Worst Poverty in Delaware Occurs
Much like in the State of Connecticut, it is impossible to point out any geographic isolation of poverty in Delaware. Poor people in Delaware live in poor sections of large cities.
There are only three large major cities in Delaware, and all of them have poverty rates above the state average. Two of these three major cities reach critical levels of poverty, which is 50% or more above the state average.
However, Delaware also only has three counties, and all of them have levels of poverty close to the state average. This means that the poverty of the inner cities is balanced out by more well-off people living in the smaller towns outside of the major cities.
The cities with critical levels of poverty (50% or more above the state average) are the following:
- Newark (20.1%)
- Wilmington (21.3%)
The other major city is, of course, Dover, and it has a poverty rate of 13.8%.
The poverty rates in the three counties of Delaware are Kent with 11.4%, New Castle with 8.9% and Sussex with 10.4%.
Why the Worst Poverty in Delaware Exists
Inner city poverty, like all cases of poverty, can be caused by a multitude of different reasons. However, for the poverty to occur in the inner city as opposed to other areas of the state means that several key factors are having an effect.
For one, the wages for entry level jobs in these large cities are too low to support a family when the cost of living is so high.
Families in urban areas are completely reliant on the market for all of their basic needs. These needs include things like food, shelter, health care, higher education, and insurance.
Since most of the extremely poor people in Delaware do work for a living, it becomes apparent that the wages are simply not enough to pay for such a high cost of living.
This makes them especially vulnerable to events like health crises, divorce with children involved, and having to take care of elderly parents.
If the family has not made enough to save up assets such as college funds or savings accounts, then any crisis will most likely cripple the family financially. This then causes the children to not have enough money to attend college, and the cycle of poverty continues.
All of this aside, it is important to keep in mind that the reasons for poverty are as unique as the individuals who live through it. Though finding trends in a specific area is important, no generalization can account for everyone.
What is Being Done about Poverty in Delaware
Most of the poor people in Delaware live in very populated, urban areas. This, fortunately, makes it easy for national and state relief organizations to reach out to people in need. This is most likely a contributing factor to Delaware’s low poverty rate when compared to other states.
Relief organizations operating in Delaware such as Habitat for Humanity, Housing for All, the National Center for Children in Poverty, Save the Children, and Poverty USA.
Another group of people working to improve poverty in Delaware are national legislators who worked to raise the minimum wage. A higher minimum wage will help the poor families in Delaware be better capable of paying for the increasingly high cost of living.
References:
United States Census Bureau
