The State Journal – About 33 percent of West Virginia’s young children are living below the poverty level, officials said. Read
According to new survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 332,000 West Virginians lived in poverty in 2013, with nearly 100,000 of those children.
The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy says while the state’s economy has grown, the growth has not been widespread and thousands of West Virginians continue to struggle to afford basic necessitates including housing, food, child care and transportation.
The median household income in West Virginia did not rise between 2012 and 2013, even as other sources show that incomes at the top have grown and the gap between the top and bottom and top and middle have widened, the policy center said.
“Today’s poverty figures highlight the need to make bolder investments in the people and communities of West Virginia,” said Sean O’Leary, fiscal policy analyst with the WVCBP. “When we make it easier to move up the economic ladder, we not only help struggling families, we also make a stronger economy that works for us all.”
