A HARD LOOK AT
POVERTY IN PRATT COUNTY, KS

13.8% of the population Pratt County, KS (1.01k out of 8.66k people) live below the poverty line. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 35 - 44 and then Females 18 - 24. (Data from the Census Bureau ACS 5-year Estimate.)

What would it take to drop the poverty rate down by at least 10%? How do we move households permanently out of poverty? Who does what? How are economic development and poverty reduction outcomes and strategies connected to the most important goals of the city?

Poverty limits the rate of growth household incomes, business profitability, and tax revenues. It drives crime rates, diminishes graduation rates, increases homelessness, and hampers employers’ abilities to hire qualified candidates.

Poverty drives crime rates, diminishes graduation rates, and increases homelessness. Furthermore, subsidy programs have a built-in disincentive known as the Cliff Effect that generates a phantom workforce in Pratt—people who want to work, can work, but will not or cannot because they will lose more childcare, Medicaid, food stamps etc. than they can replace with a new job, increased hours, and/or taking a raise.

The Circles approach to changing poverty, and these seemingly ingrained social challenges, is to work together over time to create stronger, more secure families and individuals in our community.