Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Rochester Poverty Rankings

Some recently-updated facts and statistics* on poverty in the City of Rochester:
•     Rochester has retained its rankings as the 2nd poorest comparably-sized city and 5th poorest principal city among the nation’s top 75 metro areas.
·         Our childhood (under 18 yrs. of age) poverty rate has increased since only 2013 from 46% to more than 50%, which now ranks No. 1 among the nation’s cities in comparably-sized metro areas. Rochester is the only city of comparable size in the nation where more than half the children live in poverty.
•     Our city now has the highest rate (about 16%) of “Extreme Poverty” of any comparably-sized city in the United States.  For a family of four, the federal government defines the poverty level as being a household income of $23,850 or less.  Extreme Poverty is defined by the Federal Government as living below 50% of the poverty level.  
*From “Benchmarking Rochester’s Poverty, A 2015 Update and Deeper Analysis of Poverty in the City of Rochester”, by Rochester Area Community Foundation and ACT Rochester. 

These are just a few of the sobering statistics.  This would seem to indicate limitless opportunities for people in our area to serve people with extremely deep needs.  If you are unsure how you might fit into that equation, Northridge Serves can help you not only find a way to help, but to do it in a way that provides more than just material needs.  Contact us any time at agencyrep.northridge@gmail.com.

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