Income Inequality Worse in 2 of 3 American Metropolitan Areas

A new report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors highlights the growing income divide, breaking the data down to the local level and finding that income inequality grew in two out of three metro areas between 2005 and 2012.

1 minute read

August 13, 2014, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Niraj Chokshi details the new U.S. Metro Economies Report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, called "Income and Wage Gaps Across the US." According to Chokshi, the report "explores how the Great Recession affected wages and income in hundreds of metropolitan statistical areas — population and economic hubs typically encompassing a large city or cities."

"Among the key findings is that the jobs gained in the recovery paid an average of 23 percent less than those lost," and, moreover, "[income] inequality appears to have grown in more than 2 in 3 metropolitan areas from 2005 to 2012."

The coverage also includes a pair or map visualizations showing the gap between mean and median incomes in 350 metropolitan areas.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 in The Washington Post

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