The United States
is the world's richest country.
It is also one of the most unequal.
40 million people live in poverty.
That's around 12% of the population.
It has the highest poverty rate in the rich world
and three men own as much wealth
as the bottom half of the population.
The good news is that poverty has decreased
over the past two years,
but income inequality has increased,
resulting in a growing gap
between the rich and the poor.
Although the cost of living varies from state to state,
the poverty line is currently set
at an annual household income of $25,100
for a family of four.
The wealthiest states are coastal,
with the South having a higher concentration
of poorer states.
In Mississippi around 20% of people live
below the poverty line.
That's the highest percentage
of any state in the country.
In New Hampshire it's less than half that.
California and Missouri have around the same percentage,
whereas poverty in neighboring Virginia and West Virginia
is poles apart.
Poverty rates can wildly vary between towns within states.
Take Paris, Texas, which has a rate of 41%,
while a neighboring Reno it's just 3%.
The wealth divide can also be seen fluctuating
between blocks and even streets.
In different blocks on separate sides of Ocean Parkway
in Brooklyn, New York,
the poverty rate is six times that of the other.
Poverty in America is not only geographical.
It's also racial.
African Americans are more than twice as likely
to live in poverty than white Americans.
But it's Native Americans who have the highest poverty rate
of any race in the country,
and this is even higher for those who live on reservations.
Poverty declined in the majority of states in 2017.
Income growth, welfare programs, and more jobs
have led to the decline.
But if the incomes of the top 1% continue
to grow faster than those of the other 99%
the gap between the rich and the poor
will continue to widen.