Detroit has the nation’s second-highest poverty rate among cities with at least 65,000 residents and Flint ranks third, according to 2024 data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
No. 1 was Gainesville, Florida.
Gainesville’s 2024 poverty rate was 38.8% compared to 34.5% in Detroit and 34.4% in in Flint. Also in the top five: Camden, New Jersey (33.9%) and Davis, California (33.6%).
Nationally, about 12.1% of Americans and 13.4% of Michigan residents live below the poverty line.
About 51% of Detroit children and 46% of children in Flint lived in poverty in 2024. Statewide, the 2024 childhood poverty rate was 18%.
Ranking by median household income
The Census also released 2024 median household income numbers for states as well as counties and cities with at least 65,000 resid