The majority of America probably thinks that this is what poverty looks like.

However…

1. Most poor people are white.

That’s right, the average poor person is probably white. This makes sense as the number of white Americans is much higher than the number of non-white Americans. In fact, the “factual” illusion that most poor people are Black or Hispanic probably comes from looking at poverty rates. The poverty rate of Blacks and Hispanics are both roughly twice that of whites.

2. Children have higher poverty rates than adults or the elderly

American children have a significantly higher poverty rate than adults or the elderly. This is particularly troublesome as child poverty basically screws children socially, psychologically, physically, academically — in pretty much any way possible. And this is a problem for America’s future.

3. People that live in rural areas have higher poverty rates

Poverty is not just an inner-city problem. It happens in rural Maine and the middle-of-nowhere Iowa. And it happens at a higher rate in these places than in metropolitan areas probably due to lack of access to resources. I bet there’s not a ton of conveniently located Head Start preschools in rural areas, and if there are local resources, there are probably still significant transportation costs associated with accessing these resources.

All data from the Census which can be located here.