The Challenge

There are many significant reasons to study rural poverty. First, the poverty rate in rural areas (18%) is higher than that in urban areas (15.1%) (Economic Research Service [ERS], 2016), and the greater the degree of rurality, the higher the degree of poverty (ERS, 2015). Second, rural low-income mothers and their children represent one of the most vulnerable populations in the United States, facing multiple obstacles of geographic location and low socioeconomic status (Mammen & Sano, 2013). Third, in spite of the increasing number of persistent-poverty counties in rural America (Housing Assistance Council, 2012), rural poverty is all but ignored. This may be because rural residents make up less than one-fifth of the US population (US Census Bureau, 2013). Finally, geographic isolation accompanied by lack of infrastructure, fewer available resources, and limited economic opportunities exacerbates the hardships that rural families experience.

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(Sano, Mammen, & Houghten, 2020)