PHOENIX (AP) -- New figures from the Census Bureau show Arizona has some of the highest rates of poverty in the country.
Nineteen percent of the state's residents were 100 percent below the poverty line in 2012.
That was the fifth-highest rate behind only Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arkansas.
Nearly 23 percent of Arizona's population was 125 percent below the poverty line, which is eight-highest among all states.
The figures released Tuesday show the national average is 15 percent for 100 percent below the poverty line and 20 percent for 125 percent below the poverty line.
Mississippi has the highest rates of poverty while New Hampshire has the lowest.
