Clay County, KY: 42% poverty rate, median household income $20K, per capita income = $9K.

[Hannah Bell]

Population 24K & declining.

This is the county where the census worker was killed.

employment decline of 14.5% since 2000.

But 75% home ownership rate: median value of owner-occupied units = $43K.

This is the kind of community wingers are talking about when they say these communities aren't poor because they "own their houses".

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/21/21051.html

[elleng]

1. Senators McConnell and Bunning.

Not that I WANT to think about it, but it does provide some food for thought, eh?

[Selatius]

2. In the 1930s at the height of the Labor Movement, places like this were prime left winger territory.

Back then, people were class conscious, but things have changed around 180 degrees as far as that goes. I blame a public education system and a corporate news media that simply emphasizes job training and de-emphasizes history, economics, and civics.

You have a workforce that operates almost with no sense of history of what came before. It's going to get worse, I fear.

[JohnnyLib2]

3. This adopted Kentuckian would like to point out another statistic:

At least 23,900 Clay County residents very likely had nothing to do with one man's death.

Poverty, yes. Explanation of death, not determined.



:shrug:

[Hannah Bell]

4. didn't say they did. i was just surprised the county = one of the poorest spots in the country.

[stuball111]

5. Funny how Bill Sparkmans death brought clay county into the public eye...

Most would never know of the poverty and unemployment there... I hope maybe something good will come out of this, and we can quit doing stupid things like war and spend some money on people. (And of course, I don't think any of this is a factor in his death, at least I hope not)

[PJPhreak]

6. Not the only county in that kinda shape...

Check out where I live....

Greenwood County, Kansas.

Greenwood County's population was estimated to be 7,067 in the year 2006, a decrease of 601, or -7.8%, over the previous six years.

The population density is 7 people per square mile.

Median income for a household in the county is $30,169, and the median income for a family is $38,140. Males have a median income of $27,021 versus $19,356 for females. The per capita income for the county is $15,976. About 8.20% of families and 12.50% of the population are below the poverty line, including 16.20% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.

Now the town I live in...

Virgil is a city in Greenwood County, Kansas, United States. The population was 113 at the 2000 census.

The per capita income for the city is $10,604. There are 8.7% of families and 22.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including 45.5% of under eighteens and 7.7% of those over 64.


Thanks to all the jobs shipped overseas over the years,I seriously doubt that Virgil will exist in 50 years!!

[kywildcat]

7. As a Kentuckian-let me point out that

in that area of the state-there are massive pot growing operations, the still view 'revenuers' with disdain-much like years ago when it was stills that the feds looked for. I've lived in KY for many years and have family in counties butting Clay-and would never dream of going up to someone's house or straying from a path in a KY state park.