Alabama

Alabama is the sixth poorest state, with 19 percent of adults and 27 percent of children living below the poverty line. Moreover, there is a sizeable range of poverty in Alabama, with a rate as low as 8.1 percent in Shelby County, and as high as 39.9 percent in Wilcox County, which is also the poorest county in the United States. Nearly one-fourth of the population depends on food stamps, and there are approximately 5,200 homeless persons. Indicators such as education, race, gender, family aspects, and employment opportunities help to characterize poverty in Alabama. Poverty is greatest among those of the Latino or Hispanic race, those who did not graduate from high school, those living in a female-headed household with related children, and those in ...