The "State" of Low-Wage Workers: How the EITC Benefits Urban and Rural Communities in the 50 States

Abstract

This article examines the spatial distribution of EITC earners nationwide in tax year 2001, and characterizes the different locational patterns of the working poor within states, introducing a typology to describe these state-level patterns. It finds that rural areas in the South have the highest proportions of tax filers claiming the EITC, and that 19 states have roughly similar proportions of large-city and rural taxpayers benefiting from the credit. It concludes that supporters of large cities and small rural towns at the federal and state levels share a common interest in advancing a tax policy agenda that benefits the working poor.