Poverty Unchanged for Fifth Year Middle-Class Income Stagnant

More than 320,000 West Virginians lived in poverty in 2012, including nearly 90,000 children, according to today’s release of the 2012 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. The income and poverty data released show the continued struggle for thousands of families in West Virginia.
With West Virginia’s policymakers facing more challenges to balance the next year’s budget, challenges created by poverty should not be overlooked. “It’s been five years since the recession, and too many West Virginians remain living in poverty,” said Sean O’Leary, fiscal policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. “State leaders need to think of these families and their children when setting the state’s priorities.”