According to research by The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which is a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the poverty rate for Bradford County was 12.9% in 2014. The statewide poverty rate was 13.6% in 2014. The 2012 childhood poverty rate by school district was: Athens Area School District – 40.3% living at 185% or below than the Federal Poverty Level; Canton Area School District – 45.4%; Northeast Bradford School District – 41.2%; Sayre Area School District – 42.7%; Troy Area School District – 39.9%; Towanda Area School District – 44.7% and Wyalusing Area School District – 35.7%. The child poverty rate is collected by the school districts as part of the federal free school lunch program.