Detroit, Rochester, and Allentown are among several metropolitan areas that have experienced an increase in “concentrated working poverty rates” over the past five years.
According to a report entitled, “Reversal of Fortune: A New Look at Concentrated Poverty in the 2000’s,” issued by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, 34 of 58 large metropolitan areas studies showed a rise in poverty, while 24 showed a decline over the first half of the decade.
The largest increases in working poverty rates – based on the percentage of taxpayers who claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit on their income tax returns – were found in cities located in older industrial regions in the Midwest and Northeast.
On the flip side of the coin – and the country – metro areas in the West, including Los Angeles and Phoenix showed the greatest declines.
The report contends that “the spatial concentration of poverty has multiple impacts ranging from discouraging private sector investment, reducing local job opportunities, burdening public schools, and damaging the mental and physical well-being of residents who live in its midst.”
“Reversal of Fortune …”
Which metro areas experienced the greatest changes in Concentrated Working Poverty Rates* over the first half of the decade?
Greatest Increases in Poverty Rate*
| Metro Area | % Change |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton PA-NJ | +18.2% |
| Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI | +16.1% |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | +14.8% |
| Rochester, NY | +13.2% |
| Columbia, SC | +11.2% |
Greatest Decreases in Poverty Rate*
| Metro Area | % Change |
| 1. Los Angeles-Long Beach- Santa Ana, CA |
-9.3% |
| 2. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | -4.6% |
| 3. Fresno, CA | -4.3% |
| 4. San Diego-Carlsbad- San Marcos, CA |
-3.8% |
| 5. (tie) Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | -3.1% |
| 5. (tie) Jacksonville, FL | -3.1% |
| 5. (tie) Charlotte-Gastonia- Concord, NC-SC |
-3.1% |
*Working Poverty Rate is measured by the percentage of income tax filers that receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Source: “Reversal of Fortune: A New Look at Concentrated Poverty in the 2000s”, issued by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution