Ohio

Ohio’s economy suffered badly as a result of the Great Recession. The impact of the economic downturn is reflected in the state’s poverty rate, which was 16.4 percent in 2011, higher than the national average of 15.9 percent. Over the last decade, poverty in Ohio has grown by almost 58 percent, and almost 1.8 million people, or one in six, live in poverty. Only six other states have more people living in poverty. Over the past decade the number of people living below the poverty level increased by 69.9 percent in Ohio’s suburban counties. The number of children living in poverty increased by 232,199 in the past 10 years.

Despite the fact that the overall economy of Ohio has shown signs of improvement recently, the rate ...