Relative Poverty: 37% vs 52%

The PEW folks have posted an article about children living in poverty in Philly:

“A staggering 37 percent of children live in poverty in Philadelphia, which is the highest level among the nation’s 10 largest cities,” said Frazierita Klasen, senior director of the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services. “These young people are at serious risk of lagging behind in language, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Pew is pleased to partner with local agencies that are helping to improve the lives of these vulnerable children and their families.”

That's sad, but consider these stats from Alabama:


City of SELMA:                         66.9% of people under 18 live in poverty

PERRY COUNTY                     52.6%

LOWNDES COUNTY:             53.1

MONTGOMERY COUNTY    43%

SUMTER COUNTRY           48.8%
 
DALLAS COUNTY                49.6%


The child poverty rate in Philadelphia may be "staggering", but some Alabama places would consider it a victory to decrease their child poverty level to that rate.