El Paso among poorest cities in Texas, but statewide poverty level drops to historic low
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) —
Newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that poverty levels in Texas are the lowest in more than a decade, but that’s not the case for predominately Hispanic communities along the border.
The data shows that a Hispanic or black child in Texas is three times more likely to live in poverty than a white child.
Communities with a large Hispanic population, like El Paso, are among the poorest in the state.
The Texas Tribune created a chart (see gallery) while using the Bureau’s numbers and it shows that border communities are the ones with the highest poverty levels.
It shows that McAllen has the highest rate of children living in poverty. El Paso is the fourth highest in Texas.
The report says that even though Hispanics make up 39 percent of Texas’ population, they make up more than half of the state’s poor population, with 51 percent of Texas Hispanics in poverty.
The report says that Hispanic and black households face a gap of tens of thousands of dollars in income between those of white and Asian Texans.
Statewide figures show that overall poverty and child poverty dropped to their lowest levels in more than a decade.
Right now, Texas’ poverty rate is an estimated 14.7 percent.
The data also shows that incomes of Texas women are rising. In 2017, women who worked full-time, year-round jobs made about $9,000 less than Texas men instead of $10,000 less in 2016.
The Tribune says the Census Bureau bases poverty on income and family size, and someone is classified as living in poverty if they make less than $12,752 a year.