THE COST OF

SUBURBAN POVERTY
Understanding the Impact on Students Education

HIDDEN SECRET
Since 2000, Poverty in Americas suburbs
has grown 64 percent
more than twice the growth rate in cities.

SUBURBAN POVERTY
Suburban districts across the nation have become home to growing lowincome populations.
The number of suburban students eligible for free and reduced-price
lunches grew by 22 percent, compared to an increase of just 8 percent in
city districts.
Between 2000 and 2012, the population living below the federal poverty
line in the suburbs (roughly $23,500 for a family of four in 2012) grew by
65 percentmore than twice the pace of growth in large cities and faster
than the increases registered in smaller metro areas and rural
communitiesmaking Americas suburbs home to the largest and fastest
growing poor population in the country.

Low-income students made up at least half the public

school student population in 17 states in 2011, a
marked increase from 2000, when four states topped
50 percent.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OUR STUDENTS?

UNDERPRIVILEGED TEENS ARE

MORE LIKELY TO:
Youth from low-income families engage in more risk behaviors during adolescence (3.5 mean
cumulative risks) than youth from middle-income (3.2 mean cumulative risks) and highincome (2.9 mean cumulative risks) families.
Youth from low-income families are more likely than youth from middle- and high-income
families to have sex before age 16, become a member of a gang, attack someone or get into
a fight, steal something worth more than 50 dollars, and ever run away. However, youth from
low-income families are not more likely than youth from middle- and high-income families to
use alcohol and marijuana, sell illegal drugs, or destroy property.
Seven percent of young women from low-income families have a child by age 18, while only 2
percent of females from middle-income families and 1 percent of females from high-income
families have a birth by this age.
Nearly a third of youth from low-income families (29 percent) fail to earn high school
diplomas, approximately three times greater than the percentage of youth from middleincome families (10 percent) and roughly six times greater than the percentage of youth from
high-income families (5 percent).

UNDERPRIVILEGED TEENS ARE

MORE LIKELY TO:
Only one in ten youth from low-income families (10 percent) go on to graduate from a
four-year college, compared with over a quarter (28 percent) of youth from middleincome families and half (50 percent) of youth from high-income families.
One in five youth from low-income families (20 percent) are charged with an adult crime
by the age of 24, which is higher than the number of youth from middle- and highincome families (16 and 12 percent, respectively).
Less than half of youth from low-income families (44 percent) remain consistentlyconnected to school and/or the labor market between ages 18 and 24, a lower share
than among youth from middle- and high-income families (67 and 75 percent,
respectively).
Roughly 1 in 5 youth from low-income families (18 percent) never connect (making
extremely short, or no connections to school and/or the labor market between ages 18
and 24), while only 1 in 50 youth from high-income families (2 percent) fall into this
category.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Many suburbs lack the kinds of resources and infrastructure that cities
have built up over decades to address poverty.
The suburban safety net is often patchy and stretched thin, and limited
(or no) public transit can make it difficult for poor residents to find
affordable transportation to reach services or job opportunities that lie
elsewhere in the region.
As rising poverty strains limited resources in these communities,
suburban schools often find themselves on the frontlines, not only in
identifying growing need, but also in responding by trying to fill capacity
and resource gaps.

STEPS TO IMPROVE:
By partnering with local, state, and national organizations and soliciting
donations for things like mental health services, school supplies, and
feeding programs, including school-based therapies, a summer feeding
program, a food bank, a clothing bank, and a dropout recovery high
school.
With this integrated, multifaceted approach to addressing poverty needs
of low-income and at-risk students, improvements will be seen in the
academic performance and outcomes of students.

REFERENCES
www.pta.org/everychild
www.confrontingsuburbanpoverty.org
http://
www.learningfirst.org/changing-face-poverty-and-how-it-s-impacting-sub
urban-children#sthash.dyfH43oB.dpuf
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/vulnerableyouth/3/index.shtml