Arizona has one of the highest rates of poverty in the nation, with almost a fifth of the state, 17 percent, living poor. Arizona is one of only nine states with a poverty rate higher than the national average.
U.S. Census numbers just released for 2015 show Arizona's total poverty rate ranges between 16.9 percent and 22 percent, versus the 14.3 percent national average.
Poverty affects almost one-third of Arizona's children, aged 5 to 17, outpacing the one-fifth of children nationally.
Overall poverty in Maricopa County is on the rise, due in part to declining average household income levels across the state, which is still down almost 10 percent since the the 2007 Census measure, but improving since the 2014 measure.
