Institute Releases Policy Briefs on Poverty, Rural Change in WNY

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The latest Policy Briefs prepared by the University at Buffalo Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth contain key findings on poverty in New York State and Western New York and demographic change in the region's rural areas.

"Poverty: A State of Extremes" and "Rural Change, Regional Challenges" are both available online at http://www.regional-institute.buffalo.edu/prog/policybrief.html.

According to "Poverty: A State of Extremes," New York State was the only state to have both poverty and income levels exceed those of the nation in 2005.

"This 'wealth gap,' or paradox of high poverty and high income levels, suggests widening disparities in economic well-being," said Kathryn A. Foster, director of the UB institute. "Although this trend is being observed nationwide, the issue is especially pronounced in New York State."

A closer look at Buffalo Niagara reveals poverty levels at the national average (about 12.6 percent) and median income levels approximately 9 percent below the national average.

Within the region, the City of Buffalo and its working-class suburbs are poorer than the nation, while Amherst is richer. These geographic patterns of poverty also are true for the region's racial and ethnic minorities. Blacks and Hispanics living in the suburbs are in a better position financially than those within the City of Buffalo. For instance, 43 percent of Buffalo's Hispanic population is poor, but only 13 percent of the Hispanic population lives below the poverty line in the rest of Erie County.

"These findings suggest an out-migration of the population overall, and specifically of ethnic and racial minorities, to the suburbs as they climb the economic ladder," Foster said.

In "Rural Change, Regional Challenges," the institute finds the region's rural areas reversed small population gains in the 1990s, with a 1.6 percent decline overall in the region's six rural counties between 2000 and 2005. Chautauqua County's loss was the most pronounced, at 2.4 percent, while Allegany County was alone in adding residents (+ 1.4 percent).

Rural Western New York's demographic change is related to economic shifts in those areas. For instance, places with the sharpest declines tended to be communities with long histories of manufacturing or agriculture, including Dunkirk and Jamestown. Manufacturing and farm employment posted losses of 9.3 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, between 2001 and 2004. Areas with educational and cultural assets, including Ellicottville and Alfred villages, tended to see population gains.

"The population and economy of rural Western New York are shifting, which presents both challenges and opportunities for the region," said Foster. "For instance, it will be important to train our labor force more deliberately for knowledge-economy jobs, invest aggressively in quality-of-life amenities and support self-employment, initiatives which many of our rural areas already are pursuing."

Initiated in August 2006 as an ongoing series, the institute's Policy Briefs are two-page synopses of key data and analysis intended to frame issues, inform decisions and guide policy action.

The Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth plays a vital role in addressing governance and quality-of-life issues in the Buffalo Niagara region. A major research and public service unit of the University at Buffalo aligned with the UB Law School, the institute leverages the resources of the university and binational community to pursue a wide range of scholarship, projects and initiatives that inform regional challenges.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York.