The Suburbanization of Poverty
By Sean Stillmaker in News on Oct 9, 2010 7:00PM
Metropolitan areas have long held the stigma of comprising the most poverty. But the Great Recession has impacted this notion with surrounding suburbs increasing in poverty while the big cities have seen a slight decrease.
Chicago’s surrounding suburbs experienced more than 50 percent increases while the city’s rate dropped by .9 percent, according to a new study by the University of Chicago’s Brookings Institution.
Illinois as a whole had a 13.3 percent rate in 2009, slightly below the national average of 14.3 percent. Cook County increased by 7 percent, but McHenry County saw an 86 percent increase, 64 percent in Will County and 54 percent in Kane County.
The Brookings Institution study analyzed the nation’s 100 largest metro areas and surrounding suburbs based on data from the Census Bureau, IRS, the 2009 American Community Survey and interviews with social service providers of suburban communities.
- Between 2007-08 poverty rates increased in 57 of the 100 largest metro areas
- Over the decade Midwestern cities and suburbs have seen the largest poverty rate increase.
- By 2008 suburbs were home to the largest and fastest growing poor population.
- By 2009 1.6 million more poor lived in the suburbs of the nation’s largest metro areas compared to the cities.
- The Sun Belt metro areas were hardest hit: Florida - Lakeland, Bradenton and Palm Bay. California - Modesto, Riverside and San Bernardino all experienced increases of more than 3.5 percent.
The devastating factor for suburban poverty is the lack of social service providers. Nonprofits have seen a 73 percent increase of first time clients, but have inadequate funding to meet their needs. Those that were surveyed reported a 47 percent loss of revenue in 2009 with more funding cuts coming this year.
DuPage County is the wealthiest in the state, but also have the busiest social service providers. The county saw a 43 percent poverty increase this year, the Daily Herald reports.