Wealth Divides
Exploring the stark dividing lines between rich and poor in American cities
The growing gap between the top and bottom rungs of the socio-economic ladder has been a prominent topic of public discourse in recent years. Statistics vividly portray this phenomenon. According to the Institute for Policy Studies , the top 1 percent of earners enjoy twice the share of the nation's total income than they did in the mid-20th century.
And for the first time in recorded history , the middle class no longer constitutes the nation's economic majority, as upper- and lower-class households together comprise over 50 percent of the population.
Income disparity is visible on the map as well as in the stats: Neighborhoods in close proximity to one another often reflect dramatic differences in economic status. And many of the boundaries between wealthy and low-income areas are shifting as cities gentrify and populations fluctuate.
The middle class is shrinking in 9 out of 10 metropolitan areas.
Metro areas shown in red saw a reduction in their middle class between 2000 and 2014. Blue metro areas' middle class remained stable or grew during that period.
Here, circle size represents metro area populations.
Income differences are stark in many American metro areas. These cities have the greatest income inequality:
- Atlanta, Georgia
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Miami, Florida
- New York, New York
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Houston, Texas
- Dallas, Texas
- Washington, D.C.
- Chicago, Illinois
We'll take a closer look at wealth divides in a few of these cities.
New York City
Most of New York City's wealthiest residents live in Manhattan, where income disparity is heightened by high densities—and high-rises. Several super-tall condominium buildings have been built in recent years, with apartment prices topping out at more than $100 million.
Left: High-end apartments and townhomes along Central Park West. Right: Public housing and row houses in East Harlem.
Nearly one in five New Yorkers live below the poverty line, while the top 5 percent of Manhattanites earned more than $860,000 in 2014.
Mapping median household income reveals vast disparities within a few minutes' walk.
This Census tract bordering Central Park in the Upper East Side has a median household income greater than $250,000...
...while just blocks away in East Harlem, household income is less than $23,000.
Another way to visualize the wealth divide: Compare the most affluent households with the least affluent.
Blue dots represent areas where households making more than $200,000 outnumber households making less than $25,000. Orange dots represent areas where households making less than $25,000 outnumber households making $200,000.
Click on the dots for details.
Atlanta
Atlanta has perennially ranked near the top of the list of cities with high rates of income inequality. Studies also indicate that income mobility—the ability of lower-income people to improve their income status—is lower in Atlanta than most American cities. In 2013 the Atlanta metro area was worst in the nation for income mobility.
Left: Atlanta's affluent Tuxedo Park neighborhood. Right: the Bankhead neighborhood south of downtown.
Atlanta's abundant tree cover largely conceals the region's extensive suburban sprawl.
Most of Atlanta's wealthier neighborhoods are north of the city.
The close-in northern suburb of Vinings is an affluent enclave with median household incomes above $208,000.
Not far to the south, this section of the Center Hill neighborhood has a median income of under $34,000.
This map compares Atlanta-area households within high ($200,000 or more) and low (less than $25,000) annual income ranges.
Blue dots represent areas where households making more than $200,000 outnumber households making less than $25,000. Orange dots represent areas where households making less than $25,000 outnumber households making $200,000.
Boston
Boston has long been beset with inequalities: According to the data , Bostonians in the top five percent of earners made $266,224 a year, compared with just $14,925 for people in the bottom 20 percent.
Brookline's Fisher Hill neighborhood has spacious homes on large lots; Dorchester, south of downtown, is more densely settled.
Most of the Boston metro area's wealthier households are in outlying towns, including Brookline and Weston...
...but the city itself is a study in income divides.
This census tract in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood has a median income of $164,000...
...while this area of nearby Shawmut has a median household income of less than $37,000.
Divides at least as stark can be found in the greater Boston area. Click on the map to compare, for instance, the wealthy western suburbs to working-class areas south of downtown.
Blue dots represent areas where households making more than $200,000 outnumber households making less than $25,000. Orange dots represent areas where households making less than $25,000 outnumber households making $200,000.
Washington, D.C.
Washington's wealth divide roughly splits the city east to west. Neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park are especially affluent relative to those east of the Anacostia River.
Tony homes (left) straddle the Foxhall Road corridor in northwest DC. Right: the Greenway and Fort Dupont neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River are far less affluent.
Northwest Washington's leafy neighborhoods blend into wealthy inner suburbs, including Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Potomac, Maryland...
...while eastward, the districts reflect lower household incomes.
D.C.'s Spring Valley neighborhood has a median household income in excess of $250,000.
In the Fort Dupont neighborhood, across D.C. in its southeast quadrant, median household income is only $28,231.
The east-west contrast is also apparent when comparing the numbers of wealthy versus low-income households.
Blue dots represent areas where households making more than $200,000 outnumber households making less than $25,000. Orange dots represent areas where households making less than $25,000 outnumber households making $200,000.
San Francisco
A skyrocketing real estate market, fueled in large part by the tech industry, has driven many residents with lower incomes out of former working-class neighborhoods of San Francisco. While many neighborhoods with panoramic views have long been affluent, other areas like Potrero Hill, south of the central business district, are rapidly gentrifying.
The spacious homes in the Pacific Heights neighborhood (left) enjoy views of the Golden Gate. Right: more modest dwellings near Chinatown.
The crowded peninsula of San Francisco, famous for its hills, has high levels of income inequality.
The city's proximity to Silicon Valley has caused an influx of highly-compensated workers, driving up real estate prices.
The Pacific Heights neighborhood, known for its "Billionaires Row" mansions, has a median household income of more than $200,000.
Not far to the east, this part of the Chinatown neighborhood has a median household income of $20,373.
A map of wealthy and low-income households shows clear divides not only in San Francisco, but in nearby Oakland, where wealthier residents inhabit hillside neighborhoods to the east, and less affluent people live in low-lying areas.
Blue dots represent areas where households making more than $200,000 outnumber households making less than $25,000. Orange dots represent areas where households making less than $25,000 outnumber households making $200,000.
Long-term trends
Is income inequality improving? Unfortunately, no. Nationwide, income inequality is greater now than it was before the great recession. In cities and metro areas, inequality also increased on average, due largely to stagnating incomes among the bottom 20 percent of earners.
As the chart below shows, the median income of upper-class Americans has grown exponentially faster than the median income of lower economic tiers. The nation's wealth has become increasingly concentrated at the upper end of the income spectrum.
Average household income by quintile
The causes of income inequality—as well as its potential solutions—tend to be complex, and vary considerably from place to place. But a common phenomenon in many U.S. cities is the pressure put on low-income families by rising housing costs. Rents have skyrocketed in Washington and many other cities. Providing affordable housing is one way communities can begin to address the growing wealth gap.
