When I saw this list, put out by Wall Street 24/7, that measured the extreme levels of poverty in the major cities in each state, my mind instantly thought it would be Flint or Detroit for our state. But the most impoverished city in Michigan isn't either of those.

According to MSN.com, Wall Street 24/7 looked into communities that were particularly hard hit by poverty, as defined by people having an income of less than $25,000 a year.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. compared the percentage point change in concentrated poverty rates in U.S. metro areas in each state between 2010 and 2016 to identify the cities where concentrated poverty is increasing the most. Despite spanning cities from coast to coast, neighborhoods facing extreme poverty tend to share multiple characteristics.

Using this methodology, the web site found that the Michigan city hit hardest by extreme poverty is Jackson.

Of the 38 Census tracts in the Jackson, Michigan, metro area, seven have poverty rates of 40% and above, up from five in 2010. The number of poor Jackson metro area residents living in extremely poor neighborhoods nearly doubled from 4,740 in 2010 to 8,335 in 2016.

 

Poorer neighborhoods are typically home to less educated populations, and the poorest parts of Jackson are no exception. Just 12.3% of adults in the metro area's poorest neighborhoods have a bachelor's degree, and 79.9% have a high school diploma -- compared to 21.4% and 90.7% of adults in Jackson's remaining neighborhoods.

Not that Wall Street 24/7 is high on Detroit just yet, saying the city's comeback claims may be overrated, but at least they're better than Jackson when it comes to extreme poverty.

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