Write 8 pages with APA style on Poverty Rates in New Mexico. Some have argued that poverty and societies may be inseparable. On the other hand, liberals have attributed poverty to various factors, especially crime. Thus, according to them, a solution to crime rates should begin with addressing poverty issues. To lend an opinion to the subject, as far as New Mexico is concerned, there is a clear relationship between poverty, crime rates, and other societal social misfits.

Basing on the data from the United States Census Bureau American Community Survey. New Mexico is rated as the second-worst poverty-stricken county in the nation (Gaurav, and Ravallion,1992). According to the 2011 data, the percentage of families that live below the poverty line within the Land of Enchantment is 16.60%, with specific rates of individuals that leave below poverty levels sitting at 21.50%. These data show that Mississippi has the worst rates in the two categories that are 17.4 percent and 22.6 percent respectively. Alaska and New Hampshire are noted to be the best terms of poverty rates in the United States. In this regard, the rates for the whole county in the year 2011 were 11.7% for families and 15.9% for all persons. There are a number of ways poverty can be measured (Gaurav, and Ravallion, 1992). The two most common indicators lead to similar results, New Hampshire having the best and Mississippi with the worst. In this case, the first indicator shows the percentage of families living below the poverty level as stipulated by the federal poverty level. More often than not the threshold tends to fluctuate depending on the number of individuals living in a given threshold. In the context of New Mexico, its poverty rates are slightly better than in another state called Louisiana and somewhat worse than Kentucky. The worst poverty in the state of New Mexico has been noted as being closer to a state that is average in every one of the major cities and counties. However, considering that the levels of poverty in New Mexico are relatively high, this is not as such a good thing.