Last week, we posted on updated poverty data for Mississippi from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 American Communities Survey. It showed that in 2007 one in five Mississippians lived in poverty and in 2012, just five years later, the number grew to one in four. The graphic below shows what the 2012 poverty data means for Mississippians of difference races.
The latest data show the percentage of African-American Mississippians living in poverty is over twice the percentage that of White Mississippians. Median income among African-American Mississippians is over $20,000 lower than that of White Mississippians.
One key to addressing these disparities is investing in K-12 and higher education. Educational attainment impacts the economic success for all Mississippi families and the competitiveness of our state’s workforce.
