Of the 27 million poor people in the United States in 1970, 10 million lived in the 11 Southern states. This was 38% of the nation's poverty population, making the South's poverty rate twice that of the remaining 39 states. This study, essentially a statistical analysis of regional poverty data derived from the 1970 Census, identifies the South's poor in detail in order to provide a statistical base for remedial action. Data were obtained on residence and poverty, the working poor, the South's elderly poor, family income and the poverty line, and poor Southern families with children. Findings included: while in "absolute numbers" more white males headed poor families than any other race/sex grouping, the incidence of poverty was highest among black female-headed families; the difference in poverty incidence between the South and the non-South was greatest for black males; the South's rural areas had the highest poverty rate; of Southern employed family heads, 54% of black females, 26% of black males, 18% of white females, and 6% of white males did not earn enough to keep out of poverty; almost half of Southern farm laborers and about one-quarter of Southern farm owners were in poverty; poverty incidence among male headed-families with children was nearly twice as high in rural areas as in urban areas; 9% of the white elderly and 23% of the black elderly in the South were poor and did not receive Social Security benefits. Appended is brief data on the Spanish American poor population in Florida and Texas. (NQ)