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Is Cleveland Poorer Than Detroit?

Published in Urban Poverty Comparison 2 mins read

No, Detroit generally exhibits higher poverty rates than Cleveland across several key metrics, making it comparatively poorer.

Understanding Poverty Rankings in Large U.S. Cities

When examining poverty rates among large cities, both Detroit and Cleveland unfortunately rank among the highest. However, data indicates a consistent pattern where Detroit faces more severe poverty challenges in several significant categories compared to Cleveland.

Key Poverty Metrics Comparison

Analysis of various poverty indicators reveals Detroit's position as the city with the highest rates, with Cleveland typically following closely behind as the second worst. This means that while Cleveland struggles significantly with poverty, Detroit's situation is even more challenging based on these metrics.

Here's a breakdown of how the two cities compare:

Poverty Metric Worst City Second Worst City
Overall Poverty Rate Detroit Cleveland
Child Poverty Rate Detroit Cleveland
Working-Age (18-64) Poverty Rate Detroit Cleveland

It's important to note that for the poverty rate of older adults (ages 65 and over), Cleveland was ranked as the second worst city, just ahead of Miami, indicating a significant issue in this demographic as well, though the comparison here is with Miami rather than Detroit.

In essence, while both cities grapple with profound poverty issues, Detroit consistently bears the burden of being the poorest among large cities in the most widely cited poverty categories, with Cleveland ranking just below it.