Do economic factors, especially poverty and lack of opportunity, play a statistically significant role in creating an environment where genocide is allowed to occur? While research has answered related questions of economic factors’ effect on most other types of intrastate conflict, economic variables have yet to be the focus of quantitative research specifically studying the occurrence of genocide. Models that do exist lay a good foundation to build upon, but can be modified by: first, only including genocides and not other types of politicide or democide in the study; and second, making the goal a better understanding of the underlying causes of genocide, not just a predictive, indications and warning type model. The latter will be accomplished by including characteristics that relate to the general populace, not just the ruling elite. This study attempts to show the relationship between economic factors and the onset of genocide, as well as the differences between underyling causal or contributive factors in cases of genocide and politicide. Statistical analysis is conducted by looking at all nations from 1955 to 2000 and comparing those in which the onset of genocide occurred, those where politicide occurred, and those in which neither occured. The findings of this study support the overall hypotheses. Economic factors, specifically income and economic growth are negatively associated with the onset of genocide. Further, models for politicide, or genocide and politicide combined, are statistically different from models measuring genocide only. Economic factors do not show significant correlation with the onset of politicides. Governments that are more autocratic, however, are more likely to commit politicide, whereas once other variables are controlled for regime type does not prove to be a significant factor in genocides.