Kiryas Joel – The Lowest Income Town In America With Big Families

Kiryas Joel is a village within the town of Monroe, in New York. English is rarely spoken and the majority of the residents are Yiddish speaking who belong to the worldwide Satmar Hasidic sect. The village people have little connection with the outside world, because the residents of the village avoid contact outside the Satmar sect of Judaism. 

The per capita income of the town is very low and most inhabitants receive very low in terms of formal education. The PCI is just $4494, and even less than 40% of people in Kiryas Joel have obtained a degree. 

Overall, more than 70% of the village residents live in places whose income falls below the poverty threshold. About 50% of the residents receive food stamps and nearly 1/3rd of the inhabitants receives medical benefits and depends on federal vouchers to pay their housing costs. 

Women marry young and stay in the village to raise their families, as they don’t use birth control. With this, the median age is under 12 and the average household size is nearly equal to the six that is the highest in the country. Most children in the village attend religious schools, but books and transportation are publicly financed. (1.1)

Source = Nyt

Maternal Care Centre In Kiryas Joel, New York

An inhabitant of the Kiryas Joel, like those of Haredi Jewish Communities, which has large families, has driven rapid population growth. According the census figure (2008), the village has the highest poverty rate in the nation. 

Origin

The Kiryas Joel is named for the late Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum. He himself helped to select the place before his death in 1979. The land of the village was bought in 1970’s and nearly 13-14 Satmar families settled in the village in 1974. When Teitelbaum died in 1979, he was the first person to be buried in the town’s graveyard. 

Geography

Kiryas Joel has total area of 2.8 km’s and only a very small portion of the area is covered with water. According the census in 2000, there were nearly 14000 people, 2000 families and 2300 households residing in the village. There were 99.02% white, 0.02% Asian, and 0.63% from two or more races. It was also reported that only 7% people speak English at home, 92% of people speak Yiddish at home while nearly 3% speak Hebrew.

Source = Jta

Large Families

Despite the lack of resources the villager’s needs are satisfied through community programs and events. Most families in Kiryas Joel have only one income and many children. The poverty rate makes inordinate number of families eligible for welfare benefits when measured with different countries. 

During the 1990’s the trials for the hepatitis A vaccine took place in the village, and it was found that nearly 70% of the residents test were found positive. This is because, the infection was due in part to high birth rate and crowded conditions among children who bathed in pools and ate public food at school.

Source = Recordonline