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New Report Finds Ohio Poverty Numbers are Unchanged

cover of Ohio State of Poverty Report
OHIO ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCIES

 16 percent of Ohioans lived in poverty for all of last year, and nearly a third were under the federal poverty line for at least some of it. Those are among the findings in a from community groups that work on the front lines of the war on poverty in Ohio. 

The numbers are similar to last year’s. 1 in 3 poor Ohioans live in urban areas, but almost half of those living in poverty are in rural or suburban areas. Phil Cole with the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies blames income inequality and a lack of jobs and transportation where people are living.

“There are a lot of things that cause poverty, that get people into poverty. The challenge is getting out.”

And there’s evidence that getting out is very hard. A little over 5 percent of Ohio kids who start out in the bottom fifth of income will end up in the top fifth by the time they’re adults, but more than 38% will stay among the poorest Ohioans.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.