Census: Ky. among states not making significant progress cutting poverty
“While the nation as a whole made headway over the past decade in reducing poverty, Kentucky is one of 10 states to not see much change one way or another. Most states had lower average official poverty rates in 2019-2021 than a decade earlier, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates. To do its comparison, the Census Bureau looked at statistics over two three-year periods: 2009-2011 covered the period immediately following the Great Recession and 2019-2021 marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the national average official poverty rate fell from 14.8% in 2009-2011 to 11.2% in 2019-2021.
While no state saw an increase in poverty rates, Kentucky and nine others remained basically the same while the other 40 states made progress in moving people out of poverty.”