Research from the University of New Hampshire has found that concentrated poverty has increased in both urban and rural communities across the nation since 2000. The percent of rural counties with high poverty rates increased from 20.6 percent to 32.5 percent, while urban counties rose from 6.7 percent to 15.6 percent. In rural areas, increases in concentrated poverty were greatest in “micropolitan” counties with small cities. In urban areas, the increase primarily occurred during and after the Great Recession, while rural communities are facing longer-term economic declines.
In North Carolina, the eastern and northwestern parts of the state have the greatest concentrations of counties where more than 20% of the population lives below the poverty line.
