16 Poorest Small Cities in America: 2015 List

4. El Centro, CA

El Centro is nicely tucked away between a couple of lakes – the Salton Sea and Laguna Salada. It’s also right on California – Arizona – Mexico border, and since it’s close to Yuma, AZ – it’s evident why it makes the list. Average GDP per capita amounts to only $26,939, but 165,000 people or so have other worries on their mind as well. Apart from having large 22.1% poverty rate, El Centro features the largest unemployment rate in the country. 19.6% or almost 33,000 people in and around El Centro are unemployed.

3. Merced, CA

It’s a strange trend since Merced is quite close to the rich Silicon Valley, but close to 260,000 people or so in and around Merced earn $23,412. That’s the real per capita GDP figure, actually. The unemployment rate of 11.9% is another problem for the gateway to Yosemite, and so is poverty rate of 25.2%.

Ron Johnson