Arkansas 3rd poorest state in U.S., report says
Arkansas is among the nation's poorest states, according to a new report by 24/7 Wall St.
The report was released last week by 24/7 Wall St., a Delaware corporation which runs a financial news and opinion company.
The report ranks Arkansas the third poorest state in the country.
With a median household income of $44,334, Arkansas is one of only three states in the country where more than half of all households earn less than $45,000 a year.
Arkansas incomes are actually increasing. The report says the typical Arkansas household earned about $2,000 more than it did in 2015. The poverty rate also fell, from 19.1% to 17.2%. Arkansas has the 6th highest poverty rate in the country.
Here are the other states included in the 10 poorest and the 10 richest states:
24/7 10 poorest states:
1. Mississippi
2. West Virginia
3. Arkansas
4. Louisiana
5. Alabama
6. Kentucky
7. New Mexico
8. Tennessee
9. Oklahoma
10. South Carolina
24/7’s 10 richest states:
1. Maryland
2. Alaska
3. New Jersey
4. Massachusetts
5. Hawaii
6. Connecticut
7. New Hampshire
8. Virginia
9. California
10. Washington
How 24/7 Wall St. got its results:
To identify the richest and poorest states with the highest and lowest median household income, 24/7 Wall St. said it reviewed state data on income from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Survey (ACS). Median household income for all years is adjusted for inflation. Data on health insurance coverage, employment by industry, food stamp recipiency, poverty, and income inequality also came from the 2016 ACS. 24/7 Wall St. said it also reviewed annual average unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for 2015 and 2016.