New Hampshire

The poverty rate for New Hampshire was 10 percent in 2012—the lowest overall rate of poverty in the United States. However, the poverty rate for the state’s children increased from 12 percent in 2011 to 15.6 percent in 2012—the largest increase of any state, according to figures obtained by the U.S. Census Bureau.

While the state’s child poverty figures are still below the national rate of 22.6 percent, the increase in child poverty is disturbing to many residents of New Hampshire, who for more than a decade prior to 2012 boasted of having the lowest child poverty rate in the nation. By 2012, [Page 1136]however, 10 states had lower child poverty figures than New Hampshire. Child poverty is higher in rural New Hampshire, with a rate ...