Report: The poor are leaving cities for suburbs

Poor people are leaving the cities behind and heading to the suburbs, a new report from The Brookings Institution finds.

Those in poverty living the suburban life increased by 67 percent between 2000 and 2011, the report said. But looking at the percentages closer: Cities still have a higher percent of poverty-level residents than suburbs do, The Associated Press reported.

The shift to the suburbs is due in part to affordable housing, report authors say in the AP story. The facts that service-sectors jobs have headed outside city limits has pushed up the poverty statistics in suburban neighborhoods, too, AP said.

Meanwhile, suburbs are struggling to keep up with demand.

The Los Angeles Times said outlying areas have been hard pressed to handle the surge, especially since it’s the cities that are geared more to handle poverty issues.