One out of five Houstonians is living at or below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The city’s rapid growth could be a factor, according to experts.
Houston has a higher percentage of residents living in poverty among the largest cities in the United States, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
One out of five residents — approximately 21.2% — are living at or below the poverty line in Houston, according to the report published Thursday. That surpasses Philadelphia, which, now at 19.7%, had previously held the title of most impoverished city in America.
“We’ve been noticing this for the past year,” Maria Perez Arguelles, a research assistant professor with the University of Houston, said. “We saw this coming. And also, there are many factors that affect this, like that Houston is a very young city with a growing population, so things are constantly changing. So, the dynamics, and the policies, and the economic conditions also change, but at a more slower pace than the population growth that Houston is experiencing.”…