25 Dumbest Cities in America

1. Philadelphia

Population: 5,785,000 

Percentage of People Living Below the Poverty Line: 22.8%

Unemployment Rate: 4%

Average Annual Income Per Family: $56,517 

The poverty rate in Philadelphia is at its lowest point in nearly two decades, but racial disparities persist, with communities of color bearing the majority of the city’s economic hardship. While household incomes increased overall last year, the high rate of inflation more than offset those increases. Policies that accelerated suburbanization, underpaid the school district, and allowed racial structures to persist all contributed to Philadelphia’s high poverty rate. People of color in the city were consistently denied access to capital and housing for decades. Two-thirds of Philadelphia’s impoverished people today are people of color, specifically blacks and Latinos, according to official figures. Poverty and the nature of work are both evolving. The majority of working-age people who are considered poor have jobs, but their income is insufficient to support basic needs like food and housing. In the previous twenty years, Philadelphia has failed most dramatically because “we haven’t grown the same proportion of middle-wage jobs as our peer cities.” It is crucial to have a nuanced understanding of poverty, especially the kind that has persisted in Philadelphia for so long. All these things considered, this makes Philadelphia one of the dumbest cities in America.

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Disclosure: None. 25 Dumbest Cities in America is originally published on Insider Monkey.