Montgomery County is affluent. Why do people in Montgomery County need help?
Montgomery County is home to almost 1 million people. While many residents are affluent, many individuals and families struggle economically because the cost of living here is one of the highest in the nation and workers in low-wage jobs cannot easily support their families. Some startling facts: • Average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the County is $1,200/month. That is the entire paycheck of someone working full-time at minimum wage. • Our first-rate school system educates 140,000 students each year. Almost one in four of these students – over 30,000 children – qualify for Free and Reduced Meals through the Federal government program for low income children. • On any given day, 1,500 residents of the County are homeless – one-third of whom are children. Over the course of a year, 4,500 people in our community experience homelessness. • Over 70,000 residents of the County each year qualify to receive food from local food banks. Hunger is a big problem too.
