POVERTY. Percentage Below Poverty Level Counties With %

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1 Poverty in the Northwest Area: An Index of Impoverished Counties By Colin Morgan-Cross and Marieka Klawitter, Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington This report presents geographic analysis of impoverishment in the Northwest Area Foundation states. We use four indicators related to economic and social disadvantage for which reliable data are available for all or most counties. We then combine these indicators to create an index, showing the concentrations of severe disadvantage in these eight states. Poverty Rate Unemployment Rate Percent of population without a High School diploma or GED Low Birth Weight Composite Index We constructed the composite index for each county by averaging the rankings for the four indicators. This allows us to identify counties that rank high on multiple indicators, showing deeper levels of disadvantage. In addition to underscoring areas of extreme impoverishment, this index can be used to identify counties where conditions are more promising. For instance, the chart labeled Native American identifies 0 counties with higher than average Native American populations and lower scores on the impoverishment index. We use maps to show the geographical distribution of impoverishment. Initial findings indicate high impoverishment rates in counties with large Native American populations, so we identify federally designated Indian land in the maps. We also compare the NWAF states and the national average for each indicator and show the counties with the highest indicator rates. The data for poverty rates and proportion of populations without a high school or GED degree come from the American Community Survey for the years 2006 to 20 (using multiple years is necessary to get county-level data). The unemployment rate data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for March 202 (and for comparison, March 20). The measures of low birth weight come from the National Vital Statistics System for 2005 to 2007, the most recent geographic data available for all counties with more than,000 residents.

2 POVERTY The overall poverty rate in the NWAF states was 2.3 percent. County poverty rates ranged from 3 percent to 54 percent. Seven of the 0 counties with the highest rates were in South Dakota. Nine of the 0 counties with the highest poverty rates have Native American populations over 50 percent. Most states contain counties with very high and very low rates of poverty. Montana had the highest state poverty rate, followed by Oregon. Minnesota had the lowest rate, at just over 0.5 percent. Iowa, Washington, and North Dakota also had poverty rates below the national average. 6% 4% 2% 0% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 3.8% Percentage Below Poverty Level Counties With 0 Poverty 4.5% Highest Rates of Poverty Rate in Poverty 3.6% 4.0% 3.7%.6% 2.3% 2.% Shannon County, SD 54% 6,946 93% 0.6% Buffalo County, SD 49% % Todd County, SD 49% 4,670 87% Sioux County, ND 47%,936 86% Ziebach County, SD 46%,260 74% Benson County, ND 36% 2,344 54% Corson County, SD 35%,48 67% Madison County, ID 32%,082 % Bennett County, SD 32%,038 67% Rolette County, SD 32% 4,322 77% Data source: American Community Survey Estimates

3 LOW EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT 0.9 percent of adults in the NWAF area did not have a high school degree or GED. The county proportion without a degree ranged from 3 percent to 34 percent. Unlike poverty rates, most of the counties with the highest proportion of adults without a high school degree do not have large Native American populations. Minnesota had the lowest percentage of adults without a high school degree at 9.3 percent; Idaho had the highest at 2.5 percent. Notably, all the NWAF states outperformed the nation as a whole, falling at least 2 percentage points below the national rate. 6% 4% 2% 0% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 5.2% Percentage Without HS Diploma or GED 0.4% 2.5% 9.3% 9.9% 0.4% 2.%.6%.3% Counties With 0 Highest Rates Percent Without HS Without HS Clark County, ID 34% 2 2% Adams County, WA 34% 3,994 2% McPherson County, SD 33% 629 0% Franklin County, WA 33% 5,338 2% Liberty County, MT 33% 562 0% Buffalo County, SD 3% % Yakima County, WA 30% 49,742 6% Logan County, ND 29% 459 0% Jerome County, ID 29% 4,87 2% McIntosh County, ND 27% 67 0% Source: American Community Survey Estimates

4 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE Overall, the unemployment rate in the NWAF area in March 202 was 7.5 percent. Unemployment rates varied across counties from.9 percent to 8.6 percent in 202, and all states showed a decrease in unemployment compared to 20. Unemployment Rate by State: March 20 and % 0.2% 9.9% 0.0% 9.2% 9.5% 9.2% 8.4% 8.6% 8.8% 8.0% 7.2% 7.6% 6.5% 6.5% 7.0% 6.0% 5.7% 5.5% 4.9% 4.% 4.0% 3.8% 2.0% 0.0% March ' March '2 Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Community Survey South Dakota, North Dakota, and Iowa had the lowest unemployment rates. Idaho, Oregon, and Washington had unemployment rates higher than the national average. Counties With Highest Unemployment Rates Unemployment Rate Unemployed Adams County, ID 8.6% % Clearwater County, ID 8.5% % Benewah County, ID 7.4% 744.8% Lincoln County, MT 6.6%, % Sanders County, MT 6.5% % Grant County, OR 5.9% % Valley County, ID 5.9% 675.7% Harney County, OR 5.6% 5 4.7% Clearwater County, MN 5.5% % Lake County, OR 5.2% %

5 LOW BIRTH WEIGHT Low birth weight (less than 5 lbs. 8 oz.) is an indication of increased risk for serious health problems, poor maternal health, inaccessibility to prenatal healthcare, and drug or alcohol use. Overall, 6.5 percent of births in the NWAF area were low weight and county rates ranged from 3 percent to 0 percent, with the highest rates in rural counties, primarily in Montana. There was little variation in state low birth weight rates, with all states having rates lower than the national rate of 8.3 percent. The states with the lowest rates were Oregon and Washington. 0.0% 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 2.0% 0.0% Percentage Low Birth Weight 8.3% 6.8% 6.6% 6.5% 7.0% 6.4% 6.8% 6.0% 6.% Source: National Vital Statistics System, Center for Disease Control and Prevention Counties with 0 highest LBW rates Low Birth Weight Rate Total in County Broadwater County, MT 9.8% 5,287 % Beaverhead County, MT 9.8% 9,32 3% Butte County, ID 9.6% 2,842 0% Powell County, MT 9.5% 7,077 5% Cavalier County, ND 9.4% 4,046 % Sweet Grass County, MT 9.4% 3,77 2% Mineral County, MT 9.2% 4,93 2% Wayne County, IA 9.0% 6,404 % Lake County, MT 8.9% 28,493 27% Bear Lake County, ID 8.7% 6,026 % Data was not available for counties with populations less than,000.

6 IMPOVERISHMENT INDEX SCORES To compare overall disadvantage, we compiled an index by averaging the rankings of the four indicators for each county. Thus, a county with an index score of 5 ranked in the top (worst) category for all four indicators. The average county index score is 2.65, and all states have counties that fell in the highest and lowest categories. The 2 most impoverished counties have an index score of 4.25 or higher notably, 9 of these 2 counties have Native American populations over 50 percent. Iowa had the lowest mean index score with 2.4. Idaho had the highest mean index score of Number of High and Low Scoring Counties by State Score of 3.5 or higher Score of 2 or lower Counties With Highest Index Scores Average Index Score in County Shannon County, SD ,437 93% Buffalo County, SD 4.75,932 89% Jefferson County, OR ,652 8% Rolette County, ND ,766 77% Glacier County, MT ,25 68% Big Horn County, MT ,663 65% Todd County, SD ,575 87% Benson County, ND ,662 54% Dewey County, SD ,354 76% Mineral County, MT ,93 2% Bennett County, SD ,44 67% Jackson County, SD ,99 49% Because birth weight data was not available for counties with populations less than,000, the average ranking (3) was used in these cases (85 total counties).

7 NATIVE AMERICAN POPULATION The average impoverishment index score for the 46 counties with over 0 percent Native Americans or Alaskan Natives is 3.3, compared to 2.7 for all counties. These counties have higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and low education, but similar rates of low births as other counties. Some counties with significant populations of Native Americans outperform all counties as a whole with low index scores (See Table). 25.0% 20.0% 5.0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.0% Indicator Rates and Native American 9.8% 2.3% Poverty 4.3% 0.9% Educational Attainment 8.0% 7.5% Unemployment Rate 6.7% 6.5% Low Birth Weight Counties with over 0% Native American s All Counties Counties With Over 0 and Lowest Index Score Average Index Score Total Hughes County, SD.75 6,827 2% Brule County, SD.75 5,28 % McKenzie County, ND 2 6,004 22% Moody County, SD 2 6,5 6% Dunn County, ND ,477 3% Valley County, MT ,345 0% Stanley County, SD ,896 0% Becker County, MN ,274 0% Tripp County, SD 2.5 5,743 4% Day County, SD 2.5 5,74 0% Because birth weight data was not available for counties with populations less than,000, the average ranking (3) was used in these cases (85 total counties).