Study: A Quarter Of New Jersey Residents Live In Poverty
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Twenty-five percent of New Jerseyans are living in poverty, according to a new study.
The study, released Sunday by the Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute, concluded that more than 2 million people in the state are struggling to meet their basic needs. Those numbers have increased since the beginning of the economic recession by more than 300,000.
The poorest county is Passaic, followed by Cumberland, Essex and Hudson, according to the report.
Nationally, the poverty line is defined as about $23,000 for a family of four.
But the New Jersey study puts the threshold at double that number because it says New Jersey's cost of living is significantly higher than the national average.
The report also found that children and Hispanics have suffered the most from increasing poverty.
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