Report: 23% of R.I.’s population lives in distressed zip codes

PROVIDENCE – Twenty-three percent of Rhode Island’s population of 1 million lives in distressed zip codes, according to an interactive report released Thursday by the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.
That percentage places the Ocean State 13th highest among the states and Washington, D.C., on the EIG’s distressed communities index. It also placed the Ocean State highest on the list among the New England states.

Mississippi ranked the highest for having 40 percent of its nearly 3 million residents living in distressed zip codes – areas plagued by high unemployment and poverty rates. Wyoming ranked the lowest at 51st for having zero percent of its population living in a distressed zip code.

To determine rankings, the organization looked at seven factors: percentage of the population 25 and older without a high school degree, percentage of habitable housing that’s unoccupied, share of the population 16 and older that is not currently employed, percentage of the population living under the poverty line, median income relative to state, percent change in the number of individuals employed between 2010 and 2013, and percent change in the number of businesses between 2010 and 2013.
In Rhode Island, 15 percent of those 25 and older lack a high school degree, 41 percent of those 16 and older are not working, the poverty rate is 14 percent and the number of businesses fell 1.7 percent.

Breaking down Rhode Island’s 68 zip codes, the index found that those who live in 02863 – Central Falls – are in the most distress with a score of 89.6, as 46 percent of adults are without a high school degree, 46 percent of those 16 and older are not working and the poverty rate is 32 percent.
In comparison, those in the 02807 zip code – Block Island – are in the least distress, with a score of 3.6. There, only 2 percent of adults lack a high school degree, 37 percent of adults are not working and the poverty rate is 9 percent.

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The other New England states ranked as follows:

  • Connecticut ranked 27th for 12 percent of the population living in distressed zip codes;
  • Massachusetts, ranked 33rd, 9 percent;
  • Maine, 40th, 4 percent;
  • New Hampshire, 43rd, 3 percent;
  • Vermont ranked the best at 49th, 1 percent.

The Economic Innovation Group said the country’s most distressed cities tend to be places stricken by long-term, structural economic problems.

The DCI was built using data from more than 25,000 zip codes and covers 312 million Americans, or 99 percent of the population.
“Good data are essential for good public policy,” John Lettieri, EIG co-founder and senior director of policy and strategy, said in a statement. “The DCI gives us a deeper understanding of economic well-being through the lens of local geographies, providing a powerful tool for policymakers at the federal, state and local levels.”

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