Income Inequality in DC is Wider than in any other Major U.S. City

• DC is 70% Black
  

Across the nation, income inequality -- the gap between high-income and low-income households -- is substantial and has widened significantly over the past two decades.  While this phenomenon is national in scope, an analysis of data from the 2000 census shows that income inequality is particularly serious in the District of Columbia.

• The average income of the top fifth of the District's households --$186,830 in 1999 -- was 31 times higher than the average income of the bottom fifth of households --$6,126.
• The gap between high-income and low-income households in the District is as wide or wider than in any of the central cities of the nation's 40 largest metro areas.  Two other cities -- Atlanta and Miami -- have similar income gaps, but in most cities the gap is much smaller than in DC.  In the typical large city, the income of the top fifth of households is 18 times the income of the bottom fifth.
• Income inequality widened in the District in the 1990s, as the benefits of its economic expansion went almost exclusively to its highest-income residents.  The average income for the top fifth of DC households grew 36 percent during this period, adjusting for inflation, while the average income of the bottom fifth of households rose just three percent.
• The stagnant income for the District's lowest-income residents reflects a variety of factors, including weak wage growth at the bottom of the earnings scale and a significant reduction in the value of public assistance benefits. [more ]
• Guess Which Ward Gets the Rec Center [more ]