Census Data Shows Poverty’s Suburban Surge
In the new situation comedy Suburgatory, a father and daughter move to the suburbs from New York City to escape big-city problems and find themselves surprised at the excess, consumerism and materialistic ways of the suburban lifestyle they encounter there. However, an emerging picture from by a recent census data analysis shows a much different view of the ‘burbs.
Since 2000, poverty rates in the suburbs have increased 53%, compared with a 26% increase in the city. Overall, the number of impoverished increased by five million in the suburbs during that time. According to the Brookings Institution, who conducted the analysis, two-thirds of the new suburban poor were added during the recession from 2007 to 2010.
What this means is that the perception of the suburbs as family bliss with its bigger houses, and better jobs and schools is changing. It also means that suburban municipalities are struggling with how to provide help and support to the suburban poor without the social programs and transportation infrastructure that large cities are used to providing.
Other findings include:
The Great Recession raised poverty rates and reduced household incomes in the vast majority of metro areas.
Nearly all large metro areas ended the decade with lower median incomes than in 2000.
Large poverty increases brought on by the Great Recession began in housing-bust and manufacturing-oriented metro areas, but subsequently spread to other places in the South and West.
Add the fact that many states are slashing overall budgets to deal with projected shortfalls, and this could mean that more suburbs are tasked with finding their own solutions to aid the growing suburban poor.
Has suburban poverty increased in your area? If so, what are some ways your municipality is dealing with it?
You can find the Brookings analysis here: http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0922_metro_poverty_berube_kneebone.aspx.
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Kelly McDonald
Kelly McDonald is a marketing and advertising expert with more than 20 years of global advertising agency experience.
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