Let’s face it: There are some very poverty-stricken places in this great nation. There are places where many are homeless, where families struggle to get by…even you might be having a little trouble with your bills recently.
However, we’re willing to bet that you aren’t struggling quite as much as folks in the nation’s poorest cities.
Where are these impoverished places? Using the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey, the Movoto Real Estate Blog plotted them on a map, using the median household income and the per-capita income of every place in the country that reported this data.
Out of those 50 places, the very poorest were:
1. Vaiva Vo CDP, AZ
2. Makena CDP, HI
3. Oldtown CDP, MD (tie)
3. City of Los Ybanez, TX (tie)
5. Stony River CDP, AK
6. Indian Falls CDP, CA
7. Ona CDP, FL
8. Green Acres CDP, ND
9. Chilili CDP, NM
10. White Water CDP, OK
You probably haven’t heard of many of these places, but that makes a lot of sense considering that none of these locations are bigger than 350 people in size. What exactly makes these places so poor? Let’s take a closer look at why each of these 10 cities made this list.
1. Vaiva Vo, AZ: A Whole Lot Of Prairie, A Whole Lot Of Poverty
You’ve probably never heard of this Arizona locale, and that’s because a mere 30 people call this place home. Unfortunately for the people there, money is probably a serious worry.
The median per capita income was only $673. No, that’s not per month, that’s per year. If you think things might look better for families, think again. The median household income was only $2,499.
2. Makena, HI: Paradise? Not On This Budget
Although this place is a little bigger than Vaiva Vo at 211 people, it still had some pretty similar numbers. With a median household income of about $2,500 and a per capita income of only $2,781, it’s going to be hard to afford all those lush island perks.
What’s more is that this place is close to resorts and has a positively beautiful beach for locals and tourists to bask in. Who would have thought that such a cute little area would have such poverty?
3. Oldtown, MD: Cute And Little…Like Locals’ Paychecks
This place is pretty adorable, and you can bet that the 77 folks who call it home think it’s a fine little spot. It has interesting history, beautiful trees, and even a little restaurant called the Schoolhouse Kitchen for people passing through. What this place also has, however, is very low income.
Oldtown locals make a per capita average of $2,273, and households make an average of $4,333.
4. Los Ybanez, TX: A Main Street That’s Mainly Empty
Really, all this Texas locale has to offer is a little circular main street and some rather cute houses—among some not-so-cute ones. We do really mean that’s all it has to offer, because income certainly isn’t a perk for the mere 23 locals who call this place home.
The median household income was a little higher than our No. 3 spot, at $4,375, but the individual worker got the short end of the stick in Los Ybanez. Per capita, folks here only make about $1,430a year.
5. Stony River, AK: Rich Culture, Poor Locals
The people here are pretty fascinating. Descended from Alaskan natives, there’s multiculturalism and multilingualism, and natural beauty all around. On the other hand, what sort of price do you pay for all this? Poverty, and lots of it.
The median household income here was $6,667. The per capita income wasn’t much better, at merely $3,240.
6. Indian Falls, CA: The Only Green Here Is On The Trees
California’s supposed to be a very expensive place to live, so there’s no way a place from that state would make the poorest list, right? Wrong.
This little place of merely 41 locals had a median household income of only $6,641, a far cry from places like San Francisco and Los Angeles. The per capita income here was only $4,063.
7. Ona, FL: At The Intersection Of Small And Impoverished
Although this place is at the intersection of two major roads that run to places like Bradenton, this is still a tiny spot of only 129 people in size.
Unfortunately, those people aren’t exactly raking in the dough. Per capita, locals only made $3,412, not nearly enough to be close to the poverty line. Households didn’t fare any better, with the median household income being just $6,875.
8. Green Acres, ND: The Place To Be? Not Really.
At 311 people, this was easily the biggest spot in our top 10, but that really didn’t mean this place had bigger paychecks for locals.
We can at least say that the median household income here was a little higher than others in our top 10, at $8,884. Still, that’s hardly an amount to brag about.
Individuals aren’t going to be bragging either, considering the per capita income here was a mere $2,685, the fourth lowest on our list.
9. Chilili, NM: The Weather Is Hot, The Job Market Is Not
The name is fun to say, but that’s really about all we can say for this little place. By little, we mean 79 people, just about all of whom are struggling to get by. After all, you’d be struggling too if you only made their per capita income of $4,514.
Though it’s pretty close to Albuquerque, this spot wasn’t exactly a great place for families. Households only made an average of $7,000.
10. White Water, OK: Maybe It’s Better To Go It Alone
This little Delaware County spot of only 87 locals made it onto this dubious top 10 thanks to low scores in general, although the exact scores might surprise you a little.
If you’re curious what we meant by this header, allow us to explain. While the per capita income was definitely higher than any others in our top 10, at only $6,153, the median household income was much lower than that. In fact, it was only about $2,500. Maybe being on your own is a better bet around here.
We’ll Take What We Can Get
It might be that things are a little less expensive in these 10 spots, and it might be that the people are grateful for all they do have, but the majority of folks probably couldn’t imagine living on that type of salary. Have you lived in or visited spots like these? Let us know your personal experience in the comments.
