Louisiana’s poverty rate—which is third worst in the nation behind only New Mexico and Mississippi—climbed to 20.4% in 2011 from 18.7% the previous year, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The report shows that Louisiana is among 27 states in which the median income is lower than the national average of $50,502. Average income in Louisiana was $41,734 last year, the seventh lowest in the nation, and a drop of nearly $2,100 from 2010. Median household income in the state has now decreased $3,700 since 2008, while income inequality has continued to increase. Nearly 910,000 Louisianans lived below the poverty line (defined as annual income of $11,170 for an individual; $19,090 for a family of three) in 2011. That’s an increase of 80,000 people over 2010, when the poverty rate was 18.7%. More than one in five Louisianans now live in poverty, the third highest rate in the country. The share of Louisianans living in “deep poverty”—an annual income of $9,545 for a family of three—grew last year to 9.4%, from 8.1% in 2010. Poverty among Louisiana children rose to 28.8% last year, up from 27.3 % in 2010. LED Secretary Stephen Moret says while the state is not satisfied with its poverty level, he notes all 50 states have seen their poverty rates increase since the beginning of 2008, adding Louisiana’s national rankings for poverty and average household income have improved since Gov. Bobby Jindal took office in 2008. “Poverty in the United States has grown twice as fast over the past four calendar years than it has in Louisiana; 22% growth in the U.S., compared to 10% in Louisiana,” Moret says. “Our view is the best way to address poverty is to help increase the number of jobs. If you look across the country, just six states have more jobs today than they had in January 2008, and Louisiana and Texas are the only two in the South among them. Louisiana’s job growth has been the second-fastest in the South since January ’08, and second-fastest in the past 12 months.” The left-leaning Louisiana Budget Project, however, says the numbers released today serve as “another sign that Louisiana is on the wrong economic track, and that this state cannot cut its way to prosperity.” Check out the LBP’s analysis of the numbers here. —Steve Sanoski
Editor’s note: This story has been changed since its original publication. An earlier version of this story did not include comments from LED Secretary Stephen Moret.
