16 Poorest Small Cities in America: 2015 List

9. Hanford – Corcoran, CA

Hanford – Corcoran metro of some 135,000 people is located between Fresno and Bakersfield, which too can’t boast with great quality of life – on the contrary. Real per capita GDP of this California metro isn’t as low as it tends to be in other small cities on this list. While $29,982 do look like a healthy figure compared to other ones on the list, the unemployment rate of 10.9% and the poverty rate of 21.4% paint a different kind of picture.

8. Las Cruces, NM

Average per capita GDP in Las Cruces doesn’t surpass the $27,669 mark. Even with 6.9% unemployment rate and recent positive trends in that department, Las Cruces manages to make our 16 poorest small cities in America: 2015 list. Why? Because a large part of metro’s inhabitants – 27.8% of some 210,000 people live below the poverty line.