Albuquerque’s suburbs have a poverty rate of 13.6 percent, which ranks at number 10 in a study of 95 metropolitan areas by the Brookings Institution, a Washington D.C. think tank. That’s a pretty high number, but at the same time, that rate has dropped slightly since 2000, when it was 14.5 percent.

The overall national trend has been increasing suburban poverty between 2000 and 2008,  with the number of suburban poor nationally growing by 25 percent. This is almost five times the growth rate in city centers, and indicated a suburbanization of poverty, the report concludes. Metro areas with populations over one million saw a greater increase in the suburban poor than metro areas under one million, like Albuquerque. But, metro areas under one million had a higher share of their poor populations in suburbs in both 2000 and 2008, which suggests they experienced a suburbanization of poverty before larger metro areas.

“Though urban and rural poverty remain an ongoing challenge, policymakers, service providers, and other stakeholders must adapt their strategies to address the needs of a poor population that is increasingly suburban,” Elizabeth Kneebone, a Brookings senior research analyst and co-author of the report, said in a statement.

“The shifting geography of American poverty underscores the need for policies that foster balanced growth across metropolitan regions and labor markets, and that link up affordable housing, transit, workforce, and economic development strategies to help connect low-income residents to job opportunities.”

And what about Albuquerque’s city proper? Poverty has increased, from 13.5 percent of the population in 2000, to 15 percent in 2008.

Further findings in the report:

  • Nationally, the poor population increased by 15.4 percent, which is almost double the overall population growth between 2000 and 2008. By 2009, 13.2 percent of Americans lived below the poverty line, which is $21,834 for a family of four.
  • In 2008, 91.6 million people—more than 30 percent of the nation’s population—fell below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
  • In 2008, 39.1 million people—13.2 percent of total population—were below 100 percent of the federal poverty level.
  • Poverty also increased in small metro areas and rural areas at faster rates than in cities.