Connecticut was the only state in the nation to see its poverty level rise in 2018, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau”™s American Community Survey.
The Connecticut poverty rate reached 10.4 percent last year, up from 9.6 percent in 2017. Although the 2018 level was up, it was nonetheless at a lower rate than the 10.5 percent recorded in 2016 and the 10.8 percent from 2015. The data report estimated there were 361,377 Connecticut residents living in poverty in 2018, up from 334,128 one year earlier.
Despite the uptick, Connecticut”™s poverty rate was lower than the 13.1 percent national average and was lower than the rates in 40 other states. Fourteen states and Puerto Rico recorded statistically significant declines in their poverty rates last year. Connecticut’s poverty rate is lower than approximately 40 other states.
