Poverty Rates in Louisiana
Mississippi River Towns and Major Cities Hit Most Severe Rates in US
Louisiana has the second-worst poverty rate in the United States. With a poverty rate as high as 19.2% of its population, it is second only to Mississippi while New Mexico trails slightly behind.
Where the Worst Poverty in Louisiana Occurs
Since the poverty rate of Louisiana is so high, it is important to keep in mind that the poverty rate is quite high in most of Louisiana’s parishes (counties).
This means that if the poverty rate has reached critical levels (50% or more above the state average) in a Louisiana parish, it means even more than it does in other states.
With that in mind, the poverty rates have reached critical levels in three different parishes (counties) and two major cities.
The parishes with poverty rates that have reached critical levels (50% or more above the state average) are the following:
- East Carroll (36.0%)
- Madison (30.6%)
- Tensas (31.3%)
These parishes are all next to each other in the northeastern region of Louisiana.
The poverty rates also reach critical levels in the following major cities (25,000 or more people):
- Monroe (32.3%)
- New Iberia (29.5%)
Why the Worst Poverty in Louisiana Exists
Since the critical poverty rates are isolated into one region in the northeastern region of Louisiana, this can be a problem by itself.
When the most critical poverty rates are all isolated into a specific area, this can cause a negative stigma to begin being associated with the area.
This negative stigma can make the entire region an unattractive place for expanding businesses, teachers and health care professionals. This leads to a low amount of available jobs, low quality education, and low quality health care, which all make the problem of poverty even worse in the region.
As for the major cities with critical levels of poverty, there seems to be a trend of two major problems. These problems are that the cost of living is too high, and the wages in the area are too low.
Unlike in rural areas, people living in heavily populated urban areas are completely reliant on the market for their most basic needs. These needs include things like water, food, shelter, education, health care, and insurance.
When pockets of poverty begin to form within the city, they will begin to experience the same isolation and negative stigma associated with entire rural regions of the state on a much smaller scale.
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 Louisiana
One great organization working to improve the poverty situation in the poorest areas of northeastern Louisiana is the Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana.
The Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana distributes over 3 million pounds of food annually to each of the 12 parishes in northeastern Louisiana. Their last survey indicated that more than 25,000 people, including 4,000 children, benefit from their distributed food on an annual basis.
Another organization working to provide food to the hungry in the southern regions of Louisiana is Second Harvest.
Second Harvest is a very similar food bank organization which also runs several programs targeting hungry children, elderly, and disaster victims.
This sort of investment is important if political leaders of Louisiana ever plan to break the cycle of continuously worsening poverty in the state’s poorest areas.
References:
United States Census Bureau
Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana
Second Harvest
