Census Figures Show Drop In Detroit Poverty Rate

DETROIT (AP) - Updated estimates show fewer people living in poverty in Detroit although it still has the highest rate among the nation's 20 largest cities.

Statistics released Thursday by the U.S. Census place Detroit's 2016 poverty rate at 35.7 percent, down from nearly 40 percent the year before.

The poverty threshold for a family of four is $24,563. The national poverty rate was 14 percent last year.

After Detroit, Cleveland has the second-highest poverty rate among big cities at 35 percent from 34.7 percent in 2015. Philadelphia was third at 25.7 percent from 25.8 the year before.

Detroit continues to rebound from the national recession and the city's 2014 exit from bankruptcy.

Mayor Mike Duggan says "the poverty rate is still too high, but a 4-percent drop in one year is significant."

Detroit