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Even as the economy of the Sun Belt took off, hardship and poverty persisted in southern communities, especially in rural areas. Although the gap between northern and southern living began to close significantly after World War II, poverty was still a major problem for the South. According to the 2000 census, the national average of the poverty rate in metropolitan areas was 15.9 percent, compared with a nonmetropolitan rate of 21.2 percent. In 2002 African Americans had a poverty rate of 22.7 percent, compared with a national rate of 11.7 percent. The rate for children was even higher: more than 30 percent of black children lived in poverty. The highest rates of child poverty in rural areas in 2000 were held by southern states: among them Kentucky, at 30.4 percent; Mississippi, at 31.5 percent; and Louisiana, at 34.6 percent.
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