The Disappearing Urban Middle Class

A new report published by the Brookings Institution highlights the falling number of middle-income households in major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington. The decline of middle-class neighborhoods is attributed to skyrocketing housing costs, as well as a general hollowing out of the economic middle.

"Does it matter if there is less room for a middle class? In strictly economic terms, plenty of economists say, it may not. But they also say that in the long run, those cities may become places where they and other city lovers would prefer not to live."

"Sociologists and many economists believe that there can be non-economic consequences for cities that lose a lot of middle-income residents. The disappearance of middle-income neighborhoods can limit opportunities for upward mobility, the authors of the Brookings study said. It becomes harder for lower-income homeowners to move up the property ladder, buy into safer neighborhoods, send their children to better schools and even make the kinds of personal contacts that can be a route to better jobs."

Thanks to Peter Gordon