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Census Data Show 17.9% of West Virginians in Poverty
By: Associated Press
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – New federal data show just over 319 thousand West Virginians living below the poverty line last year.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey shows more than 88 thousand children under 18 years old in poverty.
It had the fifth highest overall poverty rate among its 1.78 million people, behind the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico.
Among those employed in West Virginia, the rate was 7.8 percent.
Sean O’Leary, of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, says state options to address the problem including protecting Medicaid and other programs low- and moderate-income families rely on and investing in higher education.