I consider a theory an explanation that links several concepts; in this case theories explain poverty (as defined below) by linking different factors thought to cause or perpetuate poverty through distinctive social processes. Interventions that reduce a cause of poverty should reduce poverty as a consequence. The emphasis here is on poverty in developed countries such as the USA. The purpose of this paper is to expand our understanding of five different theories of poverty that underlie the common toolbox of programs which community developers apply to address the problem of poverty in their community. In contrast to the typical focus that limits theoretical review to only two or three contrasting perspectives (Ropers, 1991; Egendorf, 1999; Epstein, 1997), this paper suggests that there are five major theoretical explanations for poverty1. Poverty, it is argued, is a very complex social problem with many variants and different roots, all of which have validity depending on the situation