Connecticut Among States Most Supportive of People in Poverty, Ranking #10

With 37.9 million people living in poverty in the U.S., the non-profit organization SmileHub has released a report looking at the states that are Most Supportive of People in Poverty in 2024.  Connecticut, according to the data analysis, ranks 10th.

Among the various categories included in the analysis, Connecticut’s rankings include:        

·         3rd – Minimum wage

·         8th – Access to Public Transportation

·         11th – Share of Residents Living in Poverty

·         16th – Food Insecurity Rate

·         29th – Affordable Rental Homes per Low-Income Household

The top ten states, according to the analysis, are Massachusetts, Washington, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, Minnesota, Maine, California and Connecticut.  Among the other New England states, Vermont was #13, New Hampshire #14.

In order to determine the states most supportive of people in poverty, SmileHub compared the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Education & Transportation Availability, 2) Income & Benefits and 3) Housing, Healthcare & Food.  A total of 20 relevant metrics were included in the three dimensions. The data set ranges from the share of residents living in poverty to access to public transportation to the food insecurity rate.

Sources for the data used to create this ranking include the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, National Education Association, Campaign for Free College Tuition, Internal Revenue Service, Urban Institute, and National Council of State Legislatures.