Concentrated Poverty Drops in D.C.
Fewer children in D.C. live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty than did in 2000. That’s according to a new report by the Anne E. Casey Foundation, which found that about 33,000 children live in neighborhoods where at least one-third of their neighbors live below the poverty line. In 2000, the report found, 37,000 children lived in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty.
One of the major reasons behind the decrease is the influx of more affluent residents — gentrification — rather than poor families faring better than before, the Washington Examiner reports. Also, poverty among children is actually increasing. D.C.’s poverty rate breaks down along racial lines; it’s highest among African Americans, at 27 percent, and lowest among whites, at 8.5 percent. The District ranks tenth among cities with the highest concentrated poverty.
- Source: Washingtonexaminer
