New report says this is the poorest town in New Jersey

In a world where we're all trying to make our money stretch, there are some places in New Jersey that feel the financial squeeze more than others.

A report by 24/7 Wall Street recently listed the poorest towns in every state and it’s pretty bad news for one New Jersey town.

Salem was officially named the poorest town in the state, according to this study.

The report looked at places with populations between 1,000 and 25,000 people. It ranked them based on how much money the typical household makes.

In these towns, the median income is anywhere from $9,100 to $43,800 a year. To put that in perspective, most American households make over $69,000 annually.

With such low incomes, people in these places often rely on government help to pay for basics. In almost all of these towns, more people get SNAP benefits (food stamps) than the average for the whole state.

With a population of just over 5,000 people, Salem’s typical household makes only $26,667 a year.

Compare that to New Jersey's overall median income of $89,703, it's a big gap, and it shows how tough things are in Salem.

And another bit of sobering news: 35.2% of households in Salem get SNAP benefits, way more than the New Jersey average of 8.4%.

On top of that, the typical home in Salem is worth $59,100, while in New Jersey, it's $355,700. That's a massive difference.

Here's the thing, although we’ve seen a slight improvement lately, inflation rates are still high, nearly double what the experts say is ideal. And It's no surprise that this is hitting low-income families the hardest.

And even worse, is that it doesn't look like this inflation issue is going away anytime soon, not just for Salem but for the whole state and even the whole country.

So, Salem's story is a real eye-opener. It shows the big money gaps people in New Jersey are dealing with, and it's a reminder that we need to figure out how to help people having the biggest struggles, during these tough financial times.

But it’s also a reminder to appreciate what you’ve got. Because no matter how tough things may be for you, there’s always someone having a tougher time.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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