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MPDG - Areas of Persistent Poverty and Historically Disadvantaged Communities

Areas of Persistent Poverty

To determine if a project is located in an area of persistent poverty for the purpose of a grant application, please reference either: 

1. List of Areas of Persistent Poverty by Census Tract and County

2. Grant Location Verification map.

An “Area of Persistent Poverty” is defined by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. A project is located in an Area of Persistent Poverty if:

  1. the County in which the project is located consistently had greater than or equal to 20 percent of the population living in poverty in all three of the following datasets: (a) the 1990 decennial census; (b) the 2000 decennial census; and (c) the most recent (2021) Small Area Income Poverty Estimates; OR
  2. the Census Tract in which the project is located has a poverty rate of at least 20 percent as measured by the 2014-2018 5-year data series available from the American Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census; OR
  3. the project is located in any territory or possession of the United States.

Historically Disadvantaged Community

A "Historically Disadvantaged Community" is defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s Interim Guidance for the Justice40 Initiative and the 2023 Addendum to this Guidance. Specifically, a project is located in a Historically Disadvantaged Community if:

  1. the project is located in certain qualifying census tracts that are identified as "disadvantaged" in this Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool; OR
  2. the project is located on Tribal land.

How to use the USDOT Mapping Tool:

  1. Access the Mapping Tool at: https://maps.dot.gov/BTS/GrantProjectLocationVerification/
  2. Locate the project location by searching or zooming. Utilize the "+" and "-" BUTTONS in the upper left-hand to fit the full project scope within the display area.
  3. Ensure all layers are active by checking the boxes via the LAYER LIST tab in the upper right-hand corner. Layers are zoom-dependent. If the label is greyed out in the legend, the layer is not showing on the map because it is not zoomed in far enough.
  4. Refer to the LEGEND and/or the LAYER LIST tab in the upper right-hand corner to understand the color shading and designations for your project area.
  5. The BASEMAP GALLERY tab in the upper right-hand corner provides viewing options including satellite imagery, terrain and topographical reference information, if needed.

Last update: Area of Persistent Poverty Counties were updated based on the 2021 SAIPE data in Winter 2023. Historically Disadvantaged Communities were updated in June 2023 based on OMB guidance.

Last updated: Wednesday, July 26, 2023