Drop in Georgia poverty rate might be misleading

Fewer Georgia residents reside in poverty than a decade in the past, a brand new Census report reveals, however consultants warning the numbers don’t replicate how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the financial realities for households.

State of play: The most recent numbers from the American Group Survey 2016-2020 five-year estimates reveal 14.3% of Georgia residents had incomes beneath the federal poverty line.

• That’s down from 17.8% reported through the earlier five-year estimate, 2011 to 2015.

That’s good, however: Ife Finch Floyd, an financial justice coverage analyst on the Georgia Funds & Coverage Institute, tells Axios that individuals must be cautious about placing an excessive amount of inventory within the ACS figures as a result of they do not embody the fallout from 2020 and past.

• The pandemic, she says, “disrupted every little thing in our lives, and that included doing, actually, an correct rely of individuals within the nation and their financial circumstances.”
• She’s been reviewing different information collected over the past two years that present persons are having a tough time affording the necessities and are battling meals insecurity.
• “That is a sign that these decrease poverty ranges … might not be capturing the total story,” she mentioned.

Actuality test: Kyle Waide, president and CEO of the Atlanta Group Meals Financial institution, which helps meals banks distribute meals throughout metro Atlanta and north Georgia, tells Axios that his nonprofit noticed demand for meals help improve as a lot as 40% through the peak of the pandemic.

• The numbers dropped off in 2021, however they’re creeping again up once more due to inflation, Waide mentioned.
• “We’ve by no means actually gotten again right down to the extent we had been at previous to the pandemic,” he mentioned. “Till a few of this inflationary strain is resolved, we’re simply going to have a variety of the households we serve actually experiencing increased ranges of want, and we predict that’s going to be true all through the remainder of this 12 months.”

By the numbers: Within the five-county metro Atlanta area, Cobb had the bottom poverty fee at 8.6% whereas Clayton reported the best at 16.6%.

• Poverty charges in Georgia are increased in central and South Georgia, Census bureau information reveals.
• Jenkins County, in southeast Georgia between Augusta and Statesboro, had a 34.5% poverty fee, the best within the state.

Zoom out: Throughout the nation, 12.6% of individuals mentioned their incomes fell beneath the poverty line between 2016 and 2020. That’s an enchancment from 15.5% reported through the earlier five-year survey.

• The survey notes that poverty dropped in 49 states between the 2 time durations.

The underside line: Whereas it seems we’re in an financial rebound from the pandemic, inflation is pushing costs for some gadgets past what’s inexpensive for a lot of Individuals.