Poorest Counties in the Country

[prk166]

I found it interesting to find that the poorest counties in the United States are not in Mississippi or Louisiana or some rural county in the middle of Idaho but out on the Great Plains.

http://www.economist.com/World/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=5280905

[SoccerPrime]

After Katrina and Rita this year, I think Lousianna and Missippi might have crawled back into the "tops" of that list.

[prk166]

Good point. It'll be interesting to see how that all shakes out. I have a hard time seeing some places getting back to their they were. Metro New Orleans had a decade or two during the last 30 years where the metro (not just the inner city) population acutally decreased. ANd it hasn't kept up with the overall us growth either. Getting nailed like this could put a serious dent in it being the regions commerce center with a lot of that activity moving to places like Baton Rouge or Jackson. And if the big towns are getting hit like that, what about the small towns in rural counties? OUch.

[soccerman]

Does anyone else see the problem with basing this on tax returns?
What this shows is the lowest average earnings of people who file tax returns which might be useful, but isn't a verry good definition of poorest IMHO.

[Aerick]

Originally Posted by soccerman

Does anyone else see the problem with basing this on tax returns?
What this shows is the lowest average earnings of people who file tax returns which might be useful, but isn't a verry good definition of poorest IMHO.

True, but where else are they going to get their data?

[Stucki]

It would have to be compared to cost of living to be accurate. Purchasing Power measurements would be more accurate.