Blackfoot, Idaho
But despite the fact that Blackfoot hosts the Idaho Potato Museum, as well as the world’s largest potato chip factory, the town’s prosperous potato industry, hasn’t kept its reputation out of the mud. Because the city is heavily reliant on its agricultural industry — Bingham County, according to East Idaho News, produces 20 percent of all the potatoes in the state — job opportunities in other fields are somewhat limited in the city as a result. Ironically, food insecurity is the primary reason that Blackfoot has been placed on this list. More than three-quarters of the population lives in urban areas that are at least one mile from a grocery store or in rural areas that are at least ten miles from one, according to a report by the financial news website 24/7 Wall St. Despite this, many residents are pleased with the local economy and the small-town feel that they enjoy. The average household income in Blackfoot is $48,750, and the unemployment rate is lower than the state average when compared to the rest of the country.
Blackfoot, Idaho
Beecher, Michigan
Despite the low cost of living, young families are likely to avoid Beecher for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with the fact that the town was the site of the deadliest tornado in Michigan history a few years ago. According to MLive, this Flint suburb has the second-poorest school district in the state, with a median income of $17,247 for families with children under the age of 18. (In addition, the median household income for all families is slightly more than $28,000.) Beecher’s adult population has a bachelor’s degree in only 9 percent of cases, and nearly a quarter of the population is unemployed. It is as a result of this that nearly 60 percent of the country’s children live in poverty.
Beecher, Michigan