MetroFuture would help more of the region's residents to live above the poverty line.  With increasing regional prosperity and improved educational opportunities, the region's residents will have more chances to advance economically.  Affordable housing and reliable public transportation will allow people to develop stable routines and succeed at work and school.

As of 2000, about 8.3% of residents and 9.2% of households in the region lived in poverty.  Those in families were slightly better off, with the percent of families in poverty trailing the percent of individuals by an average of 1.3% across the region.  Single parents with children under age 18 are especially vulnerable; nearly 29% of this demographic lived in poverty as of 2000.

Objectives:

• There will be steady declines in the proportion of residents, households, and families living in poverty.
• The region will increasingly reduce income disparities between top and bottom quintiles of the population, as measured by the GINI Index.