CNBNews

THere are an estimated 39.5 million Americans living below the poverty line, which, in the lower 48 states, is an annual income threshold of $12,880 for an individual and $26,500 for a family of four (Alaska and Hawaii have a slightly higher threshold). Living in poverty can have serious consequences and impacts nearly every aspect of life -- and those problems can be compounded for those who are facing poverty while also living in very poor neighborhoods.

Residents of poor neighborhoods often struggle with higher crime rates, limited employment opportunities, lower school quality, and poor health outcomes. For those living on poverty-level income, each of these factors reduces the likelihood of upward economic mobility.

More than one in every five residents of the Trenton-Princeton metro area living on poverty-level income reside in a neighborhood of concentrated poverty -- the largest share of any of New Jersey's four metro areas.

Unemployment in Trenton's seven high-poverty neighborhoods is over three times higher than it is in the other parts of the metro area. Disparities in income are even more pronounced. The average household in the city's poor areas earns just $36,642 a year, compared to the average of $122,419 in the rest of the Trenton-Princeton area.

All data used in this story are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey. We only considered census tracts, or neighborhoods, with at least 500 people and college or graduate school enrollment below 50%. Metro areas were also excluded if over 25% of the population in tracts or neighborhoods of concentrated poverty were college or university students.