Is the District of Columbia's poverty rate higher than the national average?
Thursday, August 27, 2020
By Allegra Taylor
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YES
According to the Census Bureau's 2018 data, the percent of people of all ages living in poverty in the District of Columbia was 16.1%, higher than the national average of 13.1%. The district's rate is lower than the poverty rates in seven other states: Mississippi, New Mexico, Louisiana, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama and Kentucky.
Some cities of comparable size to Washington, a city of 705,000, have higher rates. In nearby Baltimore (population 593,000) the poverty rate in 2019 was 21.8%, according to Census estimates. El Paso (population 681,000) had a poverty rate of 20%.
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