The income gap between the top 1 percent and the poor is a growing issue in the United States.
Some towns fare worse than others.
» RELATED: Report: Atlanta tops among big cities for income inequality
Financial analysis website 24/7 Wall St. recently addressed income inequality to assess the towns where the median household income falls well below the state and national median incomes.
Analysts reviewed the median household incomes in every town in each state with a population between 1,000 and 25,000 using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
» RELATED: This is how much you must earn to be in the top 1% in Georgia
In their analysis, they found that Crisp County’s Cordele, a town of about 11,000 just two hours south of Atlanta, is Georgia’s poorest town.
In Cordele, “the typical household earns just $23,294 a year, or less than half the statewide median income of $51,037,” according to the study.
In addition to having the lowest income in the state, Cordele also has the highest poverty rate. In fact, approximately half of the town’s residents live below the poverty line (49.6 percent). That’s more than double the state poverty rate of 17.8 percent.
» RELATED: Study: Georgia home to one of the country's poorest counties
Currently, about 50 million Americans live below the official poverty income of $25,100 a year or less for a family of four.
The 24/7 Wall St. analysis also found that only 11.5 percent of adults in the Cordele area have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 29.4 percent in Georgia and 30.3 percent nationwide.
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