A report released by the NC Justice Center says Eighteen of the 100 North Carolina counties have poverty levels above 20 percent. The highest percentage was in Robeson County, where nearly 31 percent of residents lived poverty in 2008. The statewide poverty level was 14 percent in 2008, according to the American Community Survey. North Carolina’s average income was 28 thousand in 2008. The N.C. Division of Social Services reports that a family of four needs an average household income of 43 thousand dollars to meet its basic needs. Overall the report found that statewide 1.3 million people were living in poverty and 1.4 million people were without health insurance in 2008.
