The paper analyzes subjective poverty in St. Louis County, Minnesota, with the methods
of systematic data collection in 2020 and makes a diachronic comparison using the
results of a similar survey from 2010. The paper identifies the most important poverty-related
items and compares the precise meanings of the results of the 2010 and 2020 surveys.
It also aims to find out how the recovery after the recession of 2008 modified perceptions
of poverty. It is revealed that poverty in 2020 is mainly associated with items related
to material needs. Many of the items mentioned in relation to poverty are related
to financial issues, to basic human needs, or to physical safety. The paper concludes
that in spite of the economic recovery, subjective poverty did not change significantly
in the examined period.
