Poverty in Syracuse: New numbers show city’s grim ranking in family income in U.S.

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Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse has the second-highest percentage of families in the nation getting by on less than $10,000 a year, according to new data from the Census Bureau.

The city also ranks 10th in the country for the highest percentage of families living on less than $35,000 a year.

The percentages translate into more than 3,700 families making less than $10,000 and more than 11,000 earning less than $35,000.

The dismal income numbers are more signs of the city’s ongoing battle with poverty and additional reminders that families across Syracuse are struggling on a daily basis.

The table below shows U.S. places ranked by highest percentage of families making under $10,000 and $35,000 a year. If you can’t see the table, click here to open this story in a web browser.

The new numbers come from a fresh batch of census estimates released recently. The numbers track income levels for families across the country in multiple brackets. The latest estimates include data for places with populations of at least 65,000.

Other Upstate New York cities appear on both lists. Rochester is No. 14 for families making less than $10,000 and No. 20 for those making less than $35,000. Buffalo is No. 18 for families making less than $10,000 and No. 22 for families making less than $35,000.

Syracuse has struggled with high poverty for years. The latest numbers from the census revealed that the situation has improved in recent years, but the city’s poverty rates are still among the worst in the country. The poverty line for a family of four with two kids in 2021 was $27,479.

Thousands of families in the city earn less than that every year.

The table below shows the percentage of families in Syracuse in each of the income brackets tracked by the Census Bureau. There were about 29,000 families living in the city in 2021, the bureau says.

The map below shows Syracuse census tracts by median household income. Many of the city’s poorest neighborhoods are concentrated on the city’s South and Near West sides.

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