A state-by-state analysis of income trends, by Elizabeth McNichol, Doug Hall, David Cooper, and Vincent Palacios. November 15, 2012
“A state-by-state examination finds that income inequality has grown in most parts of the country since the late 1970s. Over the past three business cycles prior to 2007, the incomes of the countrys highest-income households climbed substantially, while middle and lower-income households saw only modest increases. During the recession of 2007 through 2009, households at all income levels, including the wealthiest, saw declines in real income due to widespread job losses and the loss of realized capital gains. But the incomes of the richest households have begun to grow again while the incomes of those at the bottom and middle continue to stagnate and wide gaps remain between high-income households and poor and middle-income households in every state.
As of the late 2000s, the poorest fifth of households across all states had an average income of $20,510, while the top fifth had an average income of $164,490eight times as much. In 15 states, this top-to-bottom ratio exceeded 8.0. New Mexico, Arizona, California, Georgia, New York, Louisiana, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Mississippi face the largest gaps.”
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