Areas of Persistent Poverty Project (APP) and Historically Disadvantaged Community (HDC) List
Last Updated January 10, 2023
Use this tool to determine if your grant project is within an Area of Persistent Poverty or a Historically Disadvantaged Community.
Area of Persistent Poverty
Definition: “Area of
Persistent Poverty” is defined for the grant program as:
1) Any County that has consistently had greater than or
equal to 20 percent of the population living in poverty during the last 30-year
period, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial census and the most recent (2021)
annual Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates as estimated by the Bureau of
the Census.
2) Any Census Tract with 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.
3) Any U.S. Territory.
2) Any Census Tract with 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.
3) Any U.S. Territory.
Historically Disadvantaged Community: For the purpose of the 2023 Notices of Funding Opportunity, and
consistent with OMB’s Interim Guidance for the Justice40 Initiative,
Historically Disadvantaged Communities include:
(a) certain qualifying census tracts ,
(b) any Tribal land, or
(c) any territory or possession of the United States. DOT is providing a list of census tracts that meet the definition of Historically Disadvantaged Communities for the purposes of 2023 NOFOs in the table below.
(a) certain qualifying census tracts ,
(b) any Tribal land, or
(c) any territory or possession of the United States. DOT is providing a list of census tracts that meet the definition of Historically Disadvantaged Communities for the purposes of 2023 NOFOs in the table below.
Additional background
information about Historically Disadvantaged Communities and the Justice40
Initiative at USDOT is available here.
Instructions: This table is intended to help applicants identify whether a project is located in an Area of Persistent Poverty or Historically Disadvantaged Community based on the county and/or census tract location of the project. (A map tool is also available here.)
Once you have determined the project’s State, County, and Census Tract, click the Filters tab in the top right of the Tool. Input your State, County, and Census Tract. This will populate columns A, B, and C. Columns E("COUNTY Meets Definition of an Area of Persistent Poverty?"), F ("CENSUS TRACT Meets Definition of Area of Persistent Poverty?"), and G (“CENSUS TRACT Meets definition of Historically Disadvantaged Community?) will provide a Yes/No answer to if your County and/or Census Tract meets the requirements. Please identify this information in your grant application.
Instructions: This table is intended to help applicants identify whether a project is located in an Area of Persistent Poverty or Historically Disadvantaged Community based on the county and/or census tract location of the project. (A map tool is also available here.)
Once you have determined the project’s State, County, and Census Tract, click the Filters tab in the top right of the Tool. Input your State, County, and Census Tract. This will populate columns A, B, and C. Columns E("COUNTY Meets Definition of an Area of Persistent Poverty?"), F ("CENSUS TRACT Meets Definition of Area of Persistent Poverty?"), and G (“CENSUS TRACT Meets definition of Historically Disadvantaged Community?) will provide a Yes/No answer to if your County and/or Census Tract meets the requirements. Please identify this information in your grant application.