Georgia’s poorest town revealed

August 23, 2020
1 min read
Georgia's poorest town revealed

(The Center Square) – Fort Valley was ranked the poorest town in Georgia in a 24/7 Wall St. analysis examining small, lower-income communities where households earn much less than the nation’s median annual household income.

With a population of 8,740, Fort Valley recorded a median home value of $78,700, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey.

Fort Valley’s poverty rate was pegged at 38.3 percent, and its median annual household income came in at $23,542.

A lower level of education is one characteristic residents of the poorest towns have in common, according to the analysis. The share of adults with four-year degrees averages less than 20 percent in most of the towns in the ranking, the study concluded, while nationwide the percentage with bachelor’s degrees is 31.5 percent.

The analysis considered only towns with populations of 1,000 to 25,000 residents.

Poorest Towns by State

StatePoorest TownMedian Household IncomePoverty RateMedian Home ValuePopulation
AlabamaSelma$24,82041.0%$90,20018,804
AlaskaKetchikan$59,13212.6%$237,7008,224
ArizonaDouglas$34,15429.3%$94,50016,453
ArkansasBald Knob$30,81031.3%$81,9002,891
CaliforniaOrange Cove$25,66047.8%$129,0009,564
ColoradoLamar$37,55422.4%$87,5007,606
ConnecticutGroton$53,75013.7%$207,9009,109
DelawareNew Castle$63,5736.5%$195,4005,359
FloridaAvon Park$30,67533.0%$68,40010,386
GeorgiaFort Valley$23,54238.3%$78,7008,740
HawaiiWaianae$59,21327.8%$360,80014,054
IdahoBonners Ferry$31,61922.40%$155,8002,544
IllinoisRoodhouse$32,33522.3%$47,6001,792
IndianaConnersville$33,41524.9%$71,00013,069
IowaOnawa$31,46928.8%$87,4002,830
KansasFort Scott$32,57618.8%$62,3007,800
KentuckyPaducah$35,41922.3%$117,90024,879
LouisianaNatchitoches$21,85446.8%$156,00018,080
MainePresque Isle$37,40122.0%$107,0009,162
MarylandCumberland  $34,75022.6%$93,00019,845
MassachusettsNorth Adams$39,41117.5%$144,30013,089
MichiganHamtramck$25,47849.1%$64,50021,941
MinnesotaLittle Falls$38,86218.0%$128,4008,664
MississippiYazoo City$23,97042.6%$68,30011,076
MissouriUnionville$29,44025.1%$63,6001,998
MontanaHavre$46,41917.7%$143,9009,762
NebraskaSuperior$36,42212.7%$61,1001,929
NevadaLaughlin$33,85115.1%$147,6007,502
New HampshireBerlin$38,31519.8%$88,30010,382
New JerseyCrestwood Village$28,70810.4%$72,7008,164
New MexicoBelen$33,55324.4%$104,3007,106
New YorkNew Square$23,57863.3%$376,4008,133
North CarolinaLaurinburg$29,38834.0%$102,40015,253
North DakotaValley City$49,19411.4%$110,0006,487
OhioEast Cleveland$21,43938.9%$57,80017,321
OklahomaHugo$24,54841.5%$64,4005,184
OregonPrineville$34,63023.4%$164,3009,748
PennsylvaniaJohnstown$24,29438.7%$39,70019,812
Rhode IslandCentral Falls$31,72432.8%$147,80019,382
South CarolinaDunean$29,32920.7%$82,1003,605
South DakotaSisseton$38,16721.3%$71,0002,486
TennesseeHarriman$30,75620.9%$97,4006,136
TexasCooper$31,52940.9%$56,3002,213
UtahEphraim$39,91528.0%$209,0006,987
VermontFair Haven$48,36714.8%$143,5002,280
VirginiaFarmville$37,72233.1%$174,2008,076
WashingtonKelso$37,45027.4%$133,90011,983
West VirginiaKenova$33,93819.3%$75,7003,095
WisconsinWhitewater$34,56339.0%$164,50014,766
WyomingRiverton$51,03313.3%$162,60011,069

Source: 24/7 Wall St.

Photo courtesy of exploregeorgia.org

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