`Third World' Poverty Found In Medium-Sized U.S. Cities -- Brownsville, Texas, Cited As Worst In Nation

WASHINGTON - Poverty afflicts several medium-sized U.S. cities at rates substantially greater than the urban giants, and some are at Third World levels, a private study says.

The report, released yesterday, found that Brownsville, Texas, has the worst poverty rate in the nation, with nearly 44 percent of its 98,962 residents living below federal poverty standards.

By comparison, researchers said, only 19.3 percent of New York City's 7.3 million residents live in poverty.

Brownsville was followed by four other cities with populations of fewer than 130,000 on the worst poverty list, the Greater Washington Research Center said.

"This confirms what we have believed," Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros said of the report. "The America which is home to the least of us is a reflection of the America that has been ignored and overlooked for too long."

The federal government defines the poverty level as an annual cash income of $8,076 or less for a family of two, and $9,885 or less for a family of three.

The nonpartisan research center's Committee on Strategies to Reduce Chronic Poverty studied 1990 Census statistics for 488 U.S. cities with populations above 50,000. The study excluded people who reside in institutions, military barracks and college dormitories.

The study found that the cities house 13.5 million poor people, compared with 10 million poor in suburban areas and 9 million in rural areas.

More than half of those cities had poverty rates exceeding the national average of 13.1 percent.

"The cities are sort of caught in a spiral. It's going to be hard to pull out," said lead researcher George Grier.

Grier said he expected to find high poverty rates in the largest cities, and was appalled to find higher rates in several smaller ones.

"If severe levels of poverty were restricted to the urban giants, the task of overcoming them would be daunting enough," the study said. "But our findings show they are the rule rather than the exception."

Of the five poorest cities, three were in Texas: College Station, with 38 percent, Laredo, with 37.3 percent, and Brownsville, 43.9 percent.

The others were Monroe, La., with 37.8 percent, and Camden, N.J., 36.6 percent.

Among cities with more than 1 million residents, Detroit had the highest rate of poverty, 32.4 percent.

Even though the nation's core metropolitan areas weren't dominant in poverty, the study said, "for sheer concentration of human misery, these places are unmatched today outside the Third World."

"One-third of Americans live in these cities. A disproportionate number of them are members of racial and ethnic minorities," the study said. "The ills associated with poverty . . . are already spilling out into the suburbs. Before we write off our cities for good, we must ask ourselves if we are prepared to live with the consequences."

Among the 25 cities with the highest poverty rates:

-- Seventeen had populations that were more than half black, Hispanic or both.

-- All had a limited supply of well-paying jobs.

-- Five were "Rust Belt" cities, depending on automotive or steel industries.

-- Four were situated near large universities.

Poverty rates were highest in the South, the Midwest and mid-Atlantic states. The lowest rates were in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific regions. --------------------------------------------------------------- Cities in U.S. with the highest poverty rates

The 25 cities with the highest percentage of residents living in poverty:

1. Brownsville, Texas 43.9 . 2. College Station, Texas 38 . 3. Monroe, La. 37.8 . 4. Laredo, Texas 37.3 . 5. Camden, N.J. 36.6 . 6. East Lansing, Mich. 33.8 . 7. McAllen, Texas 32.7 . 8. Detroit 32.4 . 9. Saginaw, Mich. 31.7 . 10. New Orleans 31.6 . 11. Bloomington, Ind. 31.5 . 12. Miami 31.2 . 13. Flint, Mich. 30.6 . 14. Provo, Utah 29.615 . 15. Gary, Ind. 29.4 . 16. Youngstown, Ohio 29 . 17. Cleveland 28.7 . 18. Waco, Texas 28.7 . 19. Port Arthur, Texas 28.1 . 20. Pine Bluff, Ark. 27.7 .

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. Associated Press . --------------------------------------------------------------- . Poverty rates for nation's largest cities .

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The 25 largest U.S. cities and their poverty rates. .

. 1. Detroit - 32.4. 2. New Orleans - 31.6. 3. Cleveland - 28.7. 4. El Paso, Texas - 25.3. 5. Memphis - 23. 6. San Antonio - 22.6. 7. Milwaukee - 22.2. 8. Baltimore - 21.9. 9. Chicago - 21.6. 10. Houston - 20.7. 11. Philadelphia - 20.3. 12. New York - 19.3. 13. Los Angeles - 18.9. 14. Boston - 18.7. 15. Dallas - 18. 16. Columbus, Ohio - 17.2. 17. Washington - 16.9. 18. Phoenix - 14.2. 19. San Diego - 13.4. 20. Nashville - 13.4. 21. Jacksonville, Fla. - 13. 22. San Francisco - 12.7. . 23. Indianapolis - 12.5. 24. Seattle - 12.4. 25. San Jose - 9.3.

. Associated Press