Among the largest U.S. cities, Cleveland is worst in child poverty, second for working-age adults and third in older-adult poverty, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week. Cleveland and Detroit are the only two cities that are in the bottom 10 for all three age groups.

Cleveland is worst in child poverty, second for working-age adults and third in older-adult poverty

Cleveland was the only city in the U.S. with a population of more than 250,000 where more than half the children lived in poverty in 2018. The 2018 one-year estimate of 50.5 percent of Cleveland’s kids living in poverty is more than two points higher than the 2017 estimate of 48.7 percent. We can’t say for certain that child poverty got worse, because the change is not statistically significant, but Cleveland remained dead last.

 

Poverty Rate by Age in Cleveland
	Children (Under Age 18)	Working Age (18-64)	Older Adults (65+)
	WORSE	BETTER	WORSE
2017	48.7%	30.4%	19.3%
2018	50.5%	29.6%	22.0%

The high rates of child poverty contribute to the fact that for years, Cleveland has been the second poorest large city in the country, just behind of Detroit. The overall poverty rate did not change between 2017 and 2018, remaining at 33.1 percent. But that doesn’t mean that things stayed the same for everyone. The poverty rate for adults older than age 65 got worse, climbing by 2.7 percent, the biggest jump of any age group. On the other hand, things may have gotten a bit better for working-age adults between 18 and 64. None of these changes are statistically significant, so time will tell if the 2018 figures are a blip or the beginning of a concerning trend for both young and old in Cleveland.

The poverty rate for adults older than age 65 got worse

Ohio is the only state with more than one city in the top 10 poorest large cities, and we have three – Cincinnati ranks sixth and Toledo is seventh.

Ten Worst Large U.S. Cities, Overall Poverty
Rank	City	Rate
1	Detroit, Michigan	33.4%
2	Cleveland, Ohio	33.1%
3	Buffalo, New York	30.1%
4	Memphis, Tennessee	27.8%
5	Laredo, Texas	25.9%
6	Cincinnati, Ohio	25.2%
7	Toledo, Ohio	25.0%
8	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	24.9%
9	Newark, New Jersey	24.6%
10	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	24.5%

Ten Worst Large U.S. Cities, Child Poverty
Rank	City	Rate
1	Cleveland, Ohio	50.5%
2	Detroit, Michigan	47.3%
3	Buffalo, New York	45.2%
4	Memphis, Tennessee	44.9%
5	St. Louis, Missouri	38.9%
6	Cincinnati, Ohio	37.0%
7	Newark, New Jersey	36.0%
8	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	35.5%
9	Toledo, Ohio	35.3%
10	Laredo, Texas	34.9%

Ten Worst Large U.S. Cities, Working Age Poverty
Rank	City	Rate
1	Detroit, Michigan	30.6%
2	Cleveland, Ohio	29.6%
3	Buffalo, New York	27.5%
4	Memphis, Tennessee	23.4%
5	Toledo, Ohio	23.4%
6	Cincinnati, Ohio	23.1%
7	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	22.6%
8	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	22.1%
9	Lubbock, Texas	22.0%
10	New Orleans, Louisiana	21.9%

Ten Worst Large U.S. Cities, Older Adult Poverty
Rank	City	Rate
1	Miami, Florida	30.4%
2	Laredo, Texas	27.6%
3	Cleveland, Ohio	22.0%
4	Detroit, Michigan	21.0%
5	New Orleans, Louisiana	20.2%
6	Atlanta, Georgia	20.1%
7	Jersey City, New Jersey	19.6%
8	El Paso, Texas	18.9%
9	New York, New York	18.7%
10	Boston, Massachusetts	18.2%