10 American cities where life is just harder than the rest of the country

A new report from Wallethub finds Atlanta, Cleveland and Detroit have the highest concentrations of people in need

Published December 18, 2015 8:15AM (EST)

This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

AlterNet As the media obsess over Donald Trump's latest ploy to make the media obsess over him, here are some issues getting less attention: 22 percent of U.S. kids live in poverty, including 39 percent of African-American children. One in 7 Americans can't afford to feed themselves without relying on food banks, which are struggling to meet their needs.

A Pew poll released last week officially called the death of the middle class, determining that middle-class Americans make up less than half of the population. That's a drop of more than 10 percent since 1971, CNN notes. And there's compelling evidence that income inequality is literally killing people at far younger ages than in other developed countries.

The website Wallethub has analyzed the 150 most populated cities in the U.S. to determine the highest concentrations of people in need, using metrics like food insecurity, homelessness and child poverty levels. Unsurprisingly, many of the cities with the most economic disadvantage are in the South, with its historically high rates of poverty and lawmakers deeply invested in destroying the safety net.

Here are 10 cities with the highest concentration of people in need, according to the survey.

Here are the cities with the lowest rate of disadvantage:

Of course, combining so many different factors can obscure important information. The survey found the following interesting—and depressing—facts about economic disadvantage by city:

  • The child-poverty rate is highest in Detroit, eight times above Fremont, Calif., which has the lowest.
  • The adult-poverty rate is highest in Detroit, six times above Overland Park, Kan., which has the lowest.
  • The number of homeless residents per capita is highest in Honolulu, 87 times above Las Vegas, which has the lowest.
  • The unemployment rate is highest in Detroit, six times above that of Lincoln, Neb., which has the lowest.
  • The percentage of households lacking health insurance is highest in Hialeah, Fla., eight times above  Worcester, Mass., which has the lowest.
  • The violent-crime rate is highest in Detroit, 40 times above Irvine, Calif., which has the lowest.

 


By Tana Ganeva

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