Flint is nation's poorest city, based on latest Census data

Flint has the nation's highest poverty rate among U.S. cities with at least 65,000 residents, according to 2016 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Detroit was No. 4 on the list, after Bloomington, Ind., and Reading, Pa.

The Census released its estimate of 2016 poverty rates last week for 599 municipalities with a population of at least 65,000.

The Bureau estimated that 45 percent of Flint residents lived below the poverty line in 2016, up from 42 percent in 2015.

Flint also ranked first in childhood poverty: An estimated 58 percent of Flint residents under age 18 live below the poverty line compared to a national average of 18 percent.

Detroit's poverty rate was 36 percent in 2016, down from 40 percent the previous year.

Detroit ranked fifth in childhood poverty, behind Flint; Gary, Ind.; Youngstown, Ohio, and Cleveland. An estimated 51 percent of Detroit children live below the poverty line.

Sixteen Michigan cities were included in the data release. Of those cities, Troy had Michigan's lowest poverty rate at 4 percent and tied for 17th among U.S. cities in that category.

Below is a searchable databases with poverty rates and median household and family income estimates for all U.S. municipalities and counties included in the 2016 Census data release.

(Only municipalities and counties with at least 65,000 residents are included in these databases. The reason: The Census data is based on its annual American Community Survey, and ACS one-year results are not statistically valid for smaller populations.)

2016 poverty rate, median income for 599 U.S. cities

This second database below has data for 806 of the country's 3,144 counties. While only a fourth of U.S. counties, the 806 account for 84 percent of the U.S. population.

2016 poverty rate, median income for 806 U.S. counties

You can create rankings by searching for "all counties" and then clicking on a category label to create a bottom-to-top or top-to-bottom list. Click once to list the lowest numbers first; click twice to list the highest numbers first.

The databases list medians for both household and family incomes. Households include people who live alone or with roommates who are not related. Families are households with at least two residents related by birth, marriage or adoption.

Also, because this data is based on the American Community Survey, these numbers are estimates and have a margin of error that increases as community size decreases.

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