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Small gain: Miami no longer nation's poorest city

A smaller percentage of Miami's population is living below the poverty line, a Census Bureau survey found, which could mean middle-class people are moving back to the city.

BY ROBERT L. STEINBACK

rsteinback@herald.com

For the first time in four years, Miami has surrendered its crown as America's poorest major city.

Miami now stands as the fifth poorest, behind Nos. 2 through 4, Newark, N.J., Detroit and Fresno, Calif., and the nation's new No. 1, Cleveland, according to the latest rankings released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

The survey said that 27.9 percent of Miami's population lived below the poverty line in 2003, compared to 31.2 percent in 2002. But the statistics also suggested the decline was caused not by fewer poor people, but a larger total population.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz said he was relieved the city was free of the stigma.

''It's a cloud we've had over our head, being No. 1 in an area we don't want to be No. 1 in,'' Diaz said. ``We're glad to be rid of that designation, but I'm not pleased to be No. 5. It's progress, but it's not where we want to be when I leave office.''

Diaz said the data may indicate that middle-class families, which had fled the city for decades, are returning in measurable numbers.

''It's one indication that we are reversing that trend,'' he said.

Those who work regularly with the economically stressed were less impressed.

''Fifth, fourth, third -- please,'' said Daniella Levine, executive director of the Human Services Coalition of Dade County. ``The fact that Miami is growing as a world-class city for an elite is certainly good news, but not if it is at the expense of the population whose needs must be taken into account.''

Irby McKnight, chairman of the Overtown Advisory Board, was skeptical that there was any improvement.

''I can't tell,'' McKnight said. ``My neighborhood, Overtown, still has 56 percent unemployment, we still have too many female heads of households, we still have F-rated schools.''

Any positive economic trend, McKnight said, ``hasn't trickled down this far.''

SMALL SAMPLE

Since 2000, the Census Bureau has conducted an annual survey of about 800,000 households in 1,200 counties nationwide to provide a timely demographic profile of the nation.

However, the relatively small sample -- only about 4,700 households in Miami-Dade County were surveyed, and far fewer in Miami proper -- creates a margin of error in which Miami could have ranked anywhere from first to 11th in the poorest-city rankings.

Also, the survey's estimated increase in the city's population -- 54,000 -- seems highly improbable given several analyses by local researchers suggest more modest growth. There were an estimated 3,300 more Miamians in 2003 living below the poverty line -- in 2003, $18,810 for a family of four, and $9,393 for an individual -- than in 2002.

Miami's population was an estimated 382,959 in 2003, up from 328,472 in 2002.

In county rankings, 18.3 percent of Miami-Dade residents lived in poverty in 2003 -- 18th among the 233 large counties surveyed, compared to 19th in 2002. Broward's poverty rate of 11.5 percent placed it 103rd, up from 104th a year earlier.

Miami leaders found something to relish in no longer being the nation's statistical leader in despair.

''Any improvement is good news,'' said George Foyo, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. ``Hopefully, it's going to be the begining of a trend that signals hope that those people most at risk in this community are getting the help they need.''

CONSTANT FIGURE

Most likely, local observers said, the number of people struggling in poverty in Greater Miami has been more or less constant.

Juan Mendieta, spokesman for Miami Dade College, said the school hasn't seen a dramatic change in the percentage of its students coming from households below the federal poverty line -- about 38 percent.

''From our perspective, things have not changed, and we're going to continue our efforts to address this issue,'' Mendieta said. ``Whether we're first or fifth or even if we're 10th, it's still a dire perspective.''

Beacon Council President Frank R. Nero noted that about 40,000 housing units -- mostly pricey condominiums -- are either under construction or planned for the near future. That will likely inspire a surge in new residents of relative affluence, which might drive the city's poverty numbers even lower in coming years, he said.

EXODUS OF THE POOR

Levine, of the Human Services Coalition, said that the new construction will force poor people out of the city in search of affordable housing.

''Poor people are being displaced because of the development in Miami,'' she said. ``They can't live here. The displacement thing is starting to take effect.''

But Diaz said the anticipated new residents will create new, permanent jobs.

''Those new residents are going to need retail, they're going to need dry cleaners, beauty salons,'' he said. ``You begin to create a whole new job structure that doesn't exist in the city today because you don't have the bodies to sell to.''

Herald database editor Tim Henderson contributed to this report.

[Guest r3nz0]

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[ryan2772]

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I had $5 more this year than last year.

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