A national county-by-county study of changes in poverty rates between 2007-2010 reveals an increase in poverty in Suffolk County and most other MA counties. In 2010, “poverty” meant having an income of less than $22,113 for a family of four and 15.1% of Americans were below that line. In Suffolk county that number rose 3.3% since 2007 to reach a poverty rate of 22.6% – well above the national average and the highest rate of any county in the state. Suffolk County covers Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop and while other counties had more dramatic increases, most still were well below the national rate of 15.1%. Beyond the overall trend of increasing poverty as more Bay-Staters struggle through a tough economic recession, the data shows that this poverty is and continues to be concentrated in the large urban centers of Massachusetts.
