South Dakota Shows Extremes in Poverty, Income

I suppose I shouldn't get too excited about South Dakota's supposedly growing wealth. GDP growth be darned, South Dakota is still home to the most impoverished county in the United States. Take a look at the data from the U.S. Census Small Area Poverty and Income Estimates for 2009, and you'll learn that Ziebach County on the Cheyenne River Reservation has a 62.0% poverty rate. Buffalo County, home of the Crow Creek tribe on the Missouri River, has the lowest median hosuehold income in the country, just $18,860. (Remember, median means it's the halfway mark: half the households in Fort Thompson are living on less than that.)

South Dakota has seven counties among the 30 with the highest overall poverty rates. However, greater suburban Sioux Falls in Lincoln County has the ninth-lowest poverty rate in the nation, a mere 4.2%. Median household income in Lincoln County is $72,894, almost four times the median in Buffalo County.

Child poverty in Lincoln County is a mere 5.4%, compared with 76.7% in Ziebach County. As this PDF map of South Dakota school districts shows, we have a concentration of white districts (o.k., pale green) around Sioux Falls with exceptionally low child poverty rates, below 9%.

Add those extremes, and South Dakota comes out right in the middle, with a 14.2% poverty rate among all ages, just below the national average of 14.3%. We rank 27th among the states and D.C. New Hampshire, Alaska, Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey are best off, with poverty below 10%. West Virginia, New Mexico, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Mississippi have the most poverty, with Mississippi the only state cracking 20% (21.8%, to be exact).

We are similarly middling in child poverty: our state rate of 18.9% of all kids (i.e., under 18) in poverty ranks us 26th nationally, under the national average of 20.0%. But being a little above average still means nearly 111,000 of our neighbors, including 37,000 of our kids, are in poverty.

Table 1: Poverty and Income in the United States Source: U.S. Census Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2009
State and County	People in Poverty	% in Poverty	Kids (Under 18) in Poverty	% Under 18 in Poverty	Median Income
United States	42,868,163	14.3	14,656,962	20	50,221
Alabama	805,223	17.5	274,243	24.6	40,547
Alaska	61,949	9.1	22,221	12.3	66,712
Arizona	1,065,728	16.5	396,006	23.3	48,711
Arkansas	519,026	18.5	185,268	26.6	37,888
California	5,132,640	14.2	1,846,994	19.9	58,925
Colorado	618,676	12.6	201,208	16.6	55,735
Connecticut	318,008	9.3	95,570	12	66,906
Delaware	96,409	11.2	33,851	16.7	56,985
Dist. Columbia	100,489	17.6	32,621	29	58,906
Florida	2,712,692	15	857,326	21.5	44,755
Georgia	1,585,116	16.6	575,429	22.7	47,469
Hawaii	131,896	10.4	39,214	13.7	63,741
Idaho	217,528	14.4	76,630	18.5	44,644
Illinois	1,671,343	13.3	586,040	18.7	53,974
Indiana	895,619	14.4	310,140	19.9	45,427
Iowa	342,309	11.8	109,384	15.6	48,065
Kansas	359,692	13.2	118,187	17.1	47,709
Kentucky	771,876	18.4	251,684	25.3	40,061
Louisiana	769,001	17.6	274,805	24.8	42,460
Maine	161,504	12.6	46,349	17.5	45,708
Maryland	509,141	9.2	157,164	11.8	69,193
Massachusetts	658,497	10.3	187,931	13.3	64,057
Michigan	1,565,559	16.1	513,550	22.2	45,254
Minnesota	558,118	10.9	172,134	13.9	55,621
Mississippi	620,446	21.8	230,409	30.7	36,764
Missouri	850,316	14.6	291,359	20.7	45,149
Montana	142,257	15	44,840	20.9	42,222
Nebraska	212,312	12.2	67,346	15.3	47,470
Nevada	323,738	12.4	117,742	17.6	53,310
New Hampshire	110,769	8.6	31,278	11	60,734
New Jersey	798,258	9.4	269,659	13.3	68,444
New Mexico	359,030	18.2	129,552	25.8	42,830
New York	2,708,119	14.2	878,114	20.2	54,554
North Carolina	1,475,063	16.2	503,713	22.5	43,754
North Dakota	72,911	11.7	20,022	14.1	47,898
Ohio	1,699,288	15.1	577,026	21.6	45,467
Oklahoma	575,711	16.1	199,277	22.1	41,716
Oregon	536,813	14.3	166,073	19.4	48,325
Pennsylvania	1,517,347	12.5	466,423	17.1	49,501
Rhode Island	122,379	12	39,988	17.9	53,243
South Carolina	753,286	17.1	258,848	24.4	42,580
South Dakota	110,863	14.2	36,884	18.9	45,048
Tennessee	1,055,635	17.2	352,943	24	41,715
Texas	4,143,077	17.1	1,655,085	24.3	48,286
Utah	321,441	11.7	110,852	12.9	55,183
Vermont	69,137	11.5	17,371	14	51,219
Virginia	805,555	10.6	255,156	14	59,372
Washington	803,266	12.3	249,767	16.2	56,479
West Virginia	316,155	17.8	91,059	24.1	37,423
Wisconsin	682,973	12.4	215,052	16.7	49,994
Wyoming	53,974	10.2	17,176	13.2	54,400

Breaking it down by county, my home county of Lake comes out 18th for median household income at $45,322, not quite $300 above the statewide median, and a few thousand above my own. Lake County's poverty rates for all residents and for kids are about the same, a tick or two above 12%.

1074 counties in the United States have higher median household incomes than our fair Lake County. 2101 counties have lower median household incomes than we do. Not bad!

Table 2: Poverty and income in South Dakota, by County. Source: U.S. Census Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2009
Place	People in Poverty	% in Poverty	Kids (under 18) in Poverty	% Kids in Poverty	Median Income
South Dakota	110,863	14.2	36,884	18.9	45,048
Aurora	348	13	127	19.7	40,900
Beadle	2,138	13.5	719	19	42,348
Bennett	1,242	37.8	530	49	32,137
Bon Homme	864	15.5	196	15.9	39,485
Brookings	3,942	14.7	574	10.3	46,733
Brown	3,455	10.2	944	12.1	47,378
Brule	739	14.6	256	20	40,113
Buffalo	893	43.6	405	51.5	18,860
Butte	1,343	14.2	488	20.6	38,015
Campbell	162	12	31	12.9	39,048
Charles Mix	2,137	24.3	954	36.2	33,135
Clark	428	12.7	141	18.6	40,806
Clay	2,573	23.1	441	19.5	38,421
Codington	2,952	11.4	856	13.3	44,548
Corson	1,578	39	691	52.6	26,426
Custer	830	10.9	271	18.6	46,441
Davison	2,384	13.1	670	15.4	41,441
Day	848	15.9	275	22.2	36,702
Deuel	403	9.6	132	13.3	43,678
Dewey	1,834	31.2	849	40.9	29,804
Douglas	355	12.6	108	16.8	41,049
Edmunds	463	12.2	127	13.7	46,490
Fall River	1,264	18.6	367	27.8	34,464
Faulk	282	13	72	15.1	43,600
Grant	744	10.7	192	12.2	42,559
Gregory	796	20.3	252	30	31,580
Haakon	233	13.5	72	18.3	40,447
Hamlin	623	10.9	241	14.3	46,444
Hand	377	11.9	109	15.7	42,791
Hanson	287	8.1	124	12.4	53,377
Harding	169	15.6	46	20.5	39,496
Hughes	1,835	11.4	562	14.4	56,239
Hutchinson	851	12.5	270	16.4	39,880
Hyde	186	13.7	59	18.8	40,674
Jackson	947	36.1	447	52.7	30,375
Jerauld	305	16	79	20.4	39,786
Jones	170	16.4	71	28.6	38,843
Kingsbury	573	11.2	140	12.6	41,629
Lake	1,390	12.2	294	12.1	45,322
Lawrence	3,355	15	800	17.6	41,227
Lincoln	1,704	4.2	641	5.4	72,894
Lyman	921	23.8	383	32.8	34,318
McCook	533	9.8	167	11.6	45,730
McPherson	430	18.1	107	22.1	31,945
Marshall	547	13.5	178	18.3	39,303
Meade	3,001	12.9	921	16.6	44,568
Mellette	757	38.2	332	52.7	27,455
Miner	295	12.5	87	15.5	38,370
Minnehaha	18,519	10.5	5,642	13.1	48,443
Moody	609	9.7	204	13	47,045
Pennington	13,863	14.1	5,013	20.4	46,972
Perkins	490	17.4	139	22.9	33,755
Potter	259	13	75	19.4	43,348
Roberts	2,008	20.6	795	29	36,718
Sanborn	333	13.9	103	18.6	41,364
Shannon	6,977	51.6	3,090	57.2	25,048
Spink	743	12.3	214	14.3	43,905
Stanley	270	9.7	107	15.5	51,185
Sully	146	10.9	39	11.3	48,816
Todd	4,491	45.3	2,191	57.1	24,742
Tripp	1,107	20.4	400	30.1	38,887
Turner	739	9.2	203	10.9	47,749
Union	889	6.2	290	8.1	58,785
Walworth	867	17.2	275	24.2	36,704
Yankton	2,484	12.3	711	14.5	46,028
Ziebach	1,582	62	593	76.7	25,084

Hard to be Optimistic with Worst Senior Poverty in Region

I'm sure glad Dennis Daugaard is filled with optimism. I suppose I'm just a party-pooper to intrude on such a pleasant, positive attitude with unpleasant facts of our state's problems.

But Dennis, study this interactive map from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Roll over South Dakota, and you'll find that, of the surrounding states, we are tied with Montana for the highest poverty rate in the region. The numbers:

• Overall Poverty: 13.6% (tied with Montana for 17th highest in the nation)
• Child Poverty: 16.8% (27th nationally; regionally, only Montana kids are worse off: 17.3%, 24th in US)
• Senior Poverty: 12.5% (9th nationally; worst in region)

In Minnesota and North Dakota, which both have income taxes, the overall poverty rates are 11.4% and 9.8% respectively. Hmmm....

Pine Ridge: Unemployment 80%, Life Expectancy 50

The U.K. Guardian discusses the third-world conditions on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation:

Conditions on the reservation are tough. More than 80% unemployment. A desperate shortage of housing – on average, more than 15 people live in each home and others get by in cars and trailers. More than one-third of homes lacking running water or electricity. An infant mortality rate at three times the US national average. And a dependency on alcohol and a diet so poor that half the population over the age of 40 is diabetic.

The Oglala Sioux's per capita income is around $7,000 (£4,400) a year, less than one-sixth of the national average and on a par with Bulgaria. The residents of Wounded Knee, scene of the notorious 1890 massacre of Sioux women and children and of the 1973 standoff with the FBI, are typically living on less than half of that. Young people have almost no hope of work unless they sign up to fight in Afghanistan. The few with jobs are almost all employed by the tribal authorities or the federal government. It is not uncommon to hear people quietly speak of the guilt they feel for having a job. Those who don't survive on pitifully small welfare cheques. It all adds up to a life expectancy on Pine Ridge of about only 50 years [Chris McGreal, "Obama's Indian Problem," The Guardian, 2010.01.11].

These conditions likely have something to do with the fact that over 100 people tried to commit suicide on Pine Ridge last year. That's a community of 45,000. Native Americans make up 8% of South Dakota's population. They make up 15% of our suicide deaths.

If you read about South Dakota in the British press, you'd think Native American issues would be a top priority in our political discourse, right?

Wrong. As of this morning, here's what our declared candidates for statewide office say about Native American issues on their campaign websites*:

Congress:

• Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D—the incumbent): quite a bit! Law enforcement, sovereignty, health care, education, trust fund, veterans... someone's paying attention.
• Blake Curd (R): nothing.
• Chris Nelson (R): nothing.
  
• B.T. Manning (I): nothing (but he won't tell us his position on any issue)

Governor:

• Scott Munsterman (R): discusses Native Americans in his PDF book (see pp. 4–6; he speaks of picking up where Governor Mickelson, another Brookings fellow, left off; see also education, pp. 50, 63–65; health care, p. 79). See also his PDF policy briefs under two statewide goals on strengthening our social fabric and improving health care;
• Dennis Daugaard: nothing.
  
• David Knudson: nothing (well, he did mention casinos in a blog post last February)
  
• Ken Knuppe: nothing.
  
• Gordon Howie: nothing... but he does sing about the "King of the Cowboys"
  
• Scott Heidepriem: nothing.
  
• Ron Volesky, enrolled member of the Standing Rock Tribe: no website. (Come on, Ron: you own this issue!)
  

If Lake or Brown or Davison County had 80% unemployment and life expectancy lower than Uganda and 170-some other countries, that's all we'd hear about from our candidates. But with the admirable exceptions of SHS and Munsterman, we're hearing a whole lot of nothing on an enormous political issue. We should abhor that vacuum and fill it with some serious conversation.

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*Yes, this is just a quick online evaluation, not a thorough review of every public statement made by the candidates—I'll do that when I get a blogging raise. ;-)