Yes.
Many states in the South and Southwest recorded some of the nation’s highest poverty rates in 2024. The national rate was roughly 12%, but several states in these regions exceeded that. For example, New Mexico’s rate was 16.5%, Oklahoma’s was about 15%, and Texas’ rate was over 13%.
Multiple factors contribute to elevated poverty levels across these regions. In the Southwest, many households experience “energy poverty,” meaning they spend a disproportionately large share of income on energy costs due to extreme heat and outdated assistance programs, an MIT study found. Climate-related stressors such as drought, water scarcity and infrastructure damage also hit low-income and Indigenous communities in the Southwest especially hard.
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- Poverty in States and Metropolitan Areas: 2024, American Community Surveys
- ‘Energy poverty’ hits US residents more in the South and Southwest, study finds, MIT
- Climate Change and Rural Water for Frontline Communities in the Southwest United States, Pacific Institue
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
