Areas with Concentrated Poverty: 2006-2010

"People living in poverty tend to be clustered in certain neighborhoods rather than being evenly distributed across geographic areas. Measuring this concentration of poverty is important because researchers have found that living in areas with many other poor people places burdens on low-income families beyond what the families’ own individual circumstances would dictate. Many argue that this concentration of
poverty results in higher crime rates, underperforming public schools, poor
housing and health conditions, as well as limited access to private services and
job opportunities. In recognition of these burdens, some government programs
target resources to communities with concentrated poverty. Many of these programs use the Census Bureau’s definition of “poverty areas” (census tracts with
poverty rates of 20 percent or more)..."