Poverty Rate Climbing In Pennsylvania

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According to statistics released from the U.S. Census Bureau, families in Pennsylvania are worse off than they were 10 years ago.

Cumberland County saw its poverty rate for families increase from 6.2 percent in 1999 to 7.8 percent.

Dauphin County saw its poverty rate for families increase from 12 percent to 20 percent!

Lebanon County saw its poverty rate for families increase from 8.9 percent to 15.2 percent.

York County saw its poverty rate for families increase from 7.1 percent to 11.4 percent

Crawford County saw its poverty rate for families increase from 16.2 percent to 20.7 percent.

Erie County saw its poverty rate rise to 17.4 percent while the City of Erie’s poverty rate increased six percent to 30.2 percent and is the second-highest poverty rate in Pennsylvania.

The City of Reading has a poverty rate of 41.3 percent and comes in at numero uno!  Poverty rates for other major Pennsylvania cities are Allentown 27 percent, Philadelphia 26.7 percent, Pittsburgh 22.3 percent, 21.1 in Scranton and 20.9 in Bethlehem.

The poverty rate for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is 13.4 percent or more than 1.6 million Pennsylvanians.  More than half a million people living in poverty are children under the age of 18!

These rates are higher for minority families.  For example, 45 percent of blacks and Hispanic families in Erie live under the poverty level.  The poverty rate is 25 percent for white residents.

The U.S.poverty rate hit a 17 year high of 15.1 percent.  46.2 million people in the United States were living below the poverty level in 2010.  The federal poverty level for a family of four is a yearly income of less than $22,314.

Who Are The Richest People In The Philadelphia Region?

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According to the 2011 Forbes 400 Richest Americans List, there are only two billionaires in the Philadelphia region.  They are:

Campbell Soup heiress, Mary Alice Dorrance Malone is 188th on the list with a fortune of $2.2 billion.  The 61-year-old lives in Coatesville.  Malone is divorced with two children.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Arizona.  Mary Ann sits on the board of Campbell Soup, along with her brother.  Campbell’s is the largest soup company in the world.  Ms. Malone is a horse breeder and owns a farm, in addition to her duties at Campbell Soup.

Jeffrey Lurie, a self-made millionaire who owns the Philadelphia Eagles.  The 60-year-old Lurie lives on the Philadelphia Main Line in Wynnewood.  He is married and has two children.  Lurie has a doctorate from Brandeis University.  His fortunate is listed at $1.1 billion and he is number 375 on the list.