The Study on Persistent Poverty in the South conducted by The University of Georgia’s Initiative on Poverty and the Economy concluded that Georgia was at the heart of the region of persistent poverty. Randolph County and the seven surrounding counties are among the poorest in the nation and rank at the bottom of the counties in the state as persistent poverty counties according to The 2007 Georgia County Guide. Of the 7,466 people who live in Randolph County, 2,070 live in poverty and this includes 36.9% of the children under the age of eighteen.