Nineteen counties in the Ninth District rank among the 250 poorest counties in the nation, according to an annual report from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The report uses the latest available data—in this case, from 2003—to rank per capita personal incomes for all 3,111 counties in the U.S. Of the 250 counties with the lowest per capita incomes, most are located in southern states and 228 are classified as nonmetropolitan. Twelve of the 19 Ninth District counties that fall in the bottom 250 either encompass or adjoin an American Indian reservation. One of those counties, Ziebach in South Dakota, ranks as the second-poorest county in the U.S.
In addition to Ziebach, Ninth District counties that rank among the 250 poorest are Big Horn, Blaine, Carter, Glacier, Golden Valley, Musselshell, Petroleum, Powell, Treasure and Wheatland of Montana; Sioux of North Dakota; and Buffalo, Corson, Dewey, Jackson, Mellette, Shannon and Todd of South Dakota.
To view the full list of lowest-income counties, visit www.bea.gov/bea/regional/statelocal.htm and enter "Lowest Per Capita Personal Incomes" in the Search box.
