Houston has highest poverty rate among biggest U.S. cities
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Houston now has the highest poverty rate among America's largest cities, with nearly 1 in 3 kids living in poverty, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data.
Why it matters: While Houston is often touted as an affordable city, rising costs and stagnant wages are straining residents.
- Many Houston households aren't moving into the "comfortably middle-class" bracket, Daniel Potter, director of the Houston Population Research Center at the Kinder Institute, tells Axios.
By the numbers: About 21.2% of city of Houston residents lived at or below the federal poverty line in 2024.
- We surpass Philadelphia, which had long topped the list and now has a rate of 19.7%.
- 31.1% of Houston's children under 18 live in poverty.
Context: The federal poverty income threshold is $15,940 for an individual and $32,130 for a household of four.
- The national poverty rate is 12.1%.
State of play: Houston's high poverty rate points to a disproportionate share of low-wage workers and a lack of higher-paying jobs and industries (like, say, tech), Potter says.
- He says Houston has fewer upper-middle-class households than peer cities. In most large U.S. cities, about 17.5–18% of residents earn $100,000–$150,000. In Houston, that figure is just 12.7%.
- "When we think about what might be driving poverty in Houston, we shouldn't confuse who lives here with what jobs are available," Potter tells Axios. "People are working — often full time."
Flashback: Houston's poverty rate has improved since the 23.8% recorded in 2011, but it has hovered around 20% for more than a decade, Potter adds.
Zoom out: The nine-county greater Houston area also had the highest poverty rate of the country's 25 most populous metro areas, at 14.4% — just ahead of Detroit's 14.1%, according to a census report.
- That's an improvement from about 17% a decade ago, Potter says, but the rate has crept upward again in recent years.
- Suburban areas across the country generally have lower poverty rates than the city, but the regional gap remains persistent, Potter says.
The bottom line: "The affordability of Houston is not, in and of itself, an explanation or justification for low-paying positions," Potter says.