Colorado’s improving economy is helping boost children from poverty, but the progress is uneven and underscores the need to continue helping rural areas share in the economic recovery.
A report from the Colorado Children’s Campaign shows higher than average rates of poverty among the state’s rural children.
This year’s 23 percent of the state’s rural children lived in poverty in 2013, while the state average was 17 percent.
It mirrors other indicators and anecdotal evidence about how families outside the metro area haven’t seen the same improvements in jobs and business as those on the Front Range.
It’s important to note, however, that Denver itself had a child poverty rate of 29 percent, one of the highest in the state, so living in the metro area clearly is no safeguard against low incomes. Other factors, including family structure and education, come into play.
Still, as economic conditions continue to improve, the poverty rate is likely to decline further — a welcome relief after years of persistent movement in the other direction.
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