By JIMMY LAWTON

North Country This Week

One in five children in St. Lawrence County lives below the poverty line, according to a report from the St. Lawrence County Community Development Program.

St. Lawrence County has the second highest poverty rate in New York according to recent census data with a rate of 18.9 percent and a total of 18,348 residents living in poverty.

That’s even higher than the county’s 2020 report, which estimated 17,328 or about 17.9 percent of St. Lawrence County’s trackable residents living below the poverty line.

Both figures are significantly higher than the state and federal poverty rates that are around 13 percent and 11.4 percent respectively.

The federal poverty line is the minimum level of income deemed adequate to live on. The federal poverty level is based on income and household size. Currently that level is $12,880 for an individual. For a family of four the poverty level is set at $26,500.

The median household income in St. Lawrence County is about $50,000, according to census data.

Education and age

About 26.6 percent of St. Lawrence County’s children, which is about 5,646 kids, live in poverty, the report says.

The report shows about 13.7 percent or 9,378 adults ages 25 to 65 live in poverty and about 8.5 percent or 1,498 seniors live in poverty.

According to the report, education appears to play a role in poverty. About 34 percent of adults without a high school diploma live in poverty, while only about 16 percent of adults with a diploma live below the poverty line.

Adults with an associate’s degree fare better with only about 10.6 percent living in poverty and 5.5 percent or 1,166 adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher live in poverty.

 Troubled county

The report shows a wide disparity in male and female median earnings with men at $33,107 and women at $21,865.

According to the report a living wage for one adult and one child in St. Lawrence County would be $28.85 per hour.

An hourly wage needed to afford a fair market rental of a two-bedroom apartment would be $15.96

Poverty levels in St. Lawrence County have remained high for more than a decade. In 2004 about 15.5 percent of residents lived in poverty, which is up to 18.9 percent in the most current data.

At times the rate has been even higher. In 2013 21.4 percent of the county’s residents were living in poverty.

St. Lawrence County’s unemployment rate is about 7.4 percent. The median income for county residents is $32,394. For people with high school diplomas and no higher education, the median income is $26,326.

Fifty-five percent of the county’s children qualify for free and reduced lunches.

About 6.2 percent of people with jobs do not have health insurance and about 13.1 percent of unemployed people do not have insurance.

While St. Lawrence County’s poverty rate is higher than the state and federal rates, Bronx County, which has a poverty rate of 26.2 percent. Nearby Franklin County is only slightly behind St. Lawrence with a poverty rate of 18.1%.