Persistent Poverty

The Deep South has the highest concentration of persistent poverty (a poverty rate of greater than 20% for at least 30 years) in the nation. Nationwide there are 395 persistent poverty counties – places where the poverty rate has eclipsed 20% for three decades in a row. 126 of these are in the 5 Deep South States that HOPE serves. Notably, among the 50 least mobile counties in America, 36 are persistent poverty counties. Concentration of persistent poverty occur in Appalachia, the Deep South, the Colonias, and Native American lands.