New Poverty and Income Data Reveals a Tale of Two Types of Cities

Alan Berube and Cecile Murray share new income and poverty data from the American Community Survey.

According to the article, the annual report "provided a lot of good news at the national level: from 2015 to 2016, median household income rose, and the poverty rate fell, finally returning to their levels from before the Great Recession."

There is reason to temper enthusiasm about the economy in some parts of the country, however: "the data on poverty trends in cities and metropolitan areas clearly show that some places are doing better, and making more progress, than others."

Berube and Murray reveal the key distinctions to be found in the data. For instance, in large metro areas, poverty dropped more in cities than suburbs.