There are more people living in poverty in Georgia-Carolina.
The census bureau has put out the numbers for 2007 -- and Aiken, Richmond and Columbia counties all saw jumps in the percentage of people living below the poverty level.

Columbia County had the largest percentage jump -- nearly doubling-- from 4.2 percent to 7 percent.

Emergency Services director Pam Tucker says much of that is due to the county's overall growth. She says it has put a big strain on public services.

"Without knowing these numbers had doubled, I guess we kind of knew it because we were seeing an increase in demand for services in these agencies and the need for more space to accommodate these people," Tucker said.

24.6 percent of people in Richmond County earned less than $20,650 for a family of four.

In Aiken county 15.5 percent of people missed that mark.