© David Friedman | NBC NewsTara Simons, left, and her daughter Alexis talk in their kitchen in West Hartford, Conn.
Like many Americans who move to the suburbs, Tara Simons came to West Hartford, Conn., because she wanted her daughter to grow up in a nice, safe place with good schools.
Her fall from a more financially secure suburban life to one among the working poor also happened for the same reason it's happened to so many others. She had a bout of
unemployment and couldn't find a new job that paid very well.
As a single mother, that's made it hard to hold on to the suburban life that is, in her mind, key to making sure her daughter gets off to the right start.
"I'm basically paying to say I live in West Hartford," she said. "It is worth it."
It's a struggle that many Americans bruised by the weak economy can relate to.
The number of suburban residents living in poverty rose by nearly 64 percent between 2000 and 2011, to about 16.4 million people, according to a Brookings Institution analysis of 95 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. That's more than double the rate of growth for urban poverty in those areas."I think we have an outdated perception of where poverty is and who it is affecting," said Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of the research. "We tend to think of it as a very urban and a very rural phenomenon, but it is increasingly suburban."
Comment: The mainstream media rarely reports the truth about America's ongoing economic descent but the statistics tell a different story:
Extreme Poverty Is Now At Record Levels - 19 Statistics About The Poor That Will Absolutely Astound You
America's Descent into Poverty
Half of America In Poverty? The Facts Say It's True