(The Center Square) – Fort Valley was ranked the poorest town in Georgia in a 24/7 Wall St. analysis examining small, lower-income communities where households earn much less than the nation’s median annual household income.
With a population of 8,740, Fort Valley recorded a median home value of $78,700, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey.
Fort Valley’s poverty rate was pegged at 38.3 percent, and its median annual household income came in at $23,542.
A lower level of education is one characteristic residents of the poorest towns have in common, according to the analysis. The share of adults with four-year degrees averages less than 20 percent in most of the towns in the ranking, the study concluded, while nationwide the percentage with bachelor’s degrees is 31.5 percent.
The analysis considered only towns with populations of 1,000 to 25,000 residents.
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Poorest Towns by State
State Poorest Town Median Household Income Poverty Rate Median Home Value Population Alabama Selma $24,820 41.0% $90,200 18,804 Alaska Ketchikan $59,132 12.6% $237,700 8,224 Arizona Douglas $34,154 29.3% $94,500 16,453 Arkansas Bald Knob $30,810 31.3% $81,900 2,891 California Orange Cove $25,660 47.8% $129,000 9,564 Colorado Lamar $37,554 22.4% $87,500 7,606 Connecticut Groton $53,750 13.7% $207,900 9,109 Delaware New Castle $63,573 6.5% $195,400 5,359 Florida Avon Park $30,675 33.0% $68,400 10,386 Georgia Fort Valley $23,542 38.3% $78,700 8,740 Hawaii Waianae $59,213 27.8% $360,800 14,054 Idaho Bonners Ferry $31,619 22.40% $155,800 2,544 Illinois Roodhouse $32,335 22.3% $47,600 1,792 Indiana Connersville $33,415 24.9% $71,000 13,069 Iowa Onawa $31,469 28.8% $87,400 2,830 Kansas Fort Scott $32,576 18.8% $62,300 7,800 Kentucky Paducah $35,419 22.3% $117,900 24,879 Louisiana Natchitoches $21,854 46.8% $156,000 18,080 Maine Presque Isle $37,401 22.0% $107,000 9,162 Maryland Cumberland $34,750 22.6% $93,000 19,845 Massachusetts North Adams $39,411 17.5% $144,300 13,089 Michigan Hamtramck $25,478 49.1% $64,500 21,941 Minnesota Little Falls $38,862 18.0% $128,400 8,664 Mississippi Yazoo City $23,970 42.6% $68,300 11,076 Missouri Unionville $29,440 25.1% $63,600 1,998 Montana Havre $46,419 17.7% $143,900 9,762 Nebraska Superior $36,422 12.7% $61,100 1,929 Nevada Laughlin $33,851 15.1% $147,600 7,502 New Hampshire Berlin $38,315 19.8% $88,300 10,382 New Jersey Crestwood Village $28,708 10.4% $72,700 8,164 New Mexico Belen $33,553 24.4% $104,300 7,106 New York New Square $23,578 63.3% $376,400 8,133 North Carolina Laurinburg $29,388 34.0% $102,400 15,253 North Dakota Valley City $49,194 11.4% $110,000 6,487 Ohio East Cleveland $21,439 38.9% $57,800 17,321 Oklahoma Hugo $24,548 41.5% $64,400 5,184 Oregon Prineville $34,630 23.4% $164,300 9,748 Pennsylvania Johnstown $24,294 38.7% $39,700 19,812 Rhode Island Central Falls $31,724 32.8% $147,800 19,382 South Carolina Dunean $29,329 20.7% $82,100 3,605 South Dakota Sisseton $38,167 21.3% $71,000 2,486 Tennessee Harriman $30,756 20.9% $97,400 6,136 Texas Cooper $31,529 40.9% $56,300 2,213 Utah Ephraim $39,915 28.0% $209,000 6,987 Vermont Fair Haven $48,367 14.8% $143,500 2,280 Virginia Farmville $37,722 33.1% $174,200 8,076 Washington Kelso $37,450 27.4% $133,900 11,983 West Virginia Kenova $33,938 19.3% $75,700 3,095 Wisconsin Whitewater $34,563 39.0% $164,500 14,766 Wyoming Riverton $51,033 13.3% $162,600 11,069
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
Photo courtesy of exploregeorgia.org
