NASHVILLE – The percentage of Tennessee and Georgia children living in areas of concentrated poverty and low opportunity fell 7% from 2013 to 2017, according to a new national study being released today.
According to the latest KIDS COUNT data snapshot from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the number of Tennessee children “trapped” in impoverished communities with few job opportunities and stagnant wages fell by 15,000 to 200,000 in 2017 while in Georgia, 20,000 fewer kids now live in such circumstances. The new estimate pegs the total there at 225,000.
Alabama remained flat percentage-wise with 15% or 168,000 children living in poor communities, according to the report, titled “Children in High Poverty, Low-Opportunity Neighborhoods.”
While Tennessee and Georgia numbers dropped, the respective totals in each of the states still are still high enough to exceed Chattanooga’s total population.
In practical terms, 13% or nearly one out of every eight Tennessee children continue to face challenges because of where they live. For Georgia, it’s also 13%.