Most Unequal Metro Areas by Income: Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk Ranks 10th in US
/The Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk region is the nation’s 10th most unequal metro area by income, according to data highlighted by a national website, in a “snapshot of income inequality around the U.S.”
Nationwide, the average individual income is $58,379.45 in 2019. The 25th income percentile is $22,000 and the 90th income percentile is $116,260. In an analysis and visualization of data from the U.S. Census and other sources, the website How Much looked at the disparities in income between those in the 25th and 90th percentile.
The largest disparity is in Erie, PA, at $215,559, among the nearly 300 major metro areas included in the data review. The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metro area, with a differential of $133,000, ranked as having the 10th largest income disparity.
In highlighting the data, the website notes that “Over the past 40 years, the average individual income in the U.S. has grown by 65%. However, not everyone has reaped the benefits of higher wages. Income inequality is at an all-time high, and the combined wealth of the top 1% of earners is almost as much as the combined wealth of middle-class Americans.”
The top five Most Unequal Metro Areas in the U.S. by Income, based on the difference between the 25th and 90th percentile:
1. Erie, PA: $215,559 difference
2. Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC: $206,871 difference
3. Santa Rosa, CA: $157,050 difference
4. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA: $152,000 difference
5. Bloomington, IN: $151,340 difference
6. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $150,000 difference
7. Oshkosh,-Neenah, WI: $146,000 difference
8. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL: $138,000 difference
9. Bolder, CO: $135,000 difference
10. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT: $133,000 difference
The visualization is a map of the U.S., with 262 of the country’s major metropolitan areas color-coded in different shades of pink. The darker shades of pink indicate that there is a higher disparity between the 25th and 90th income percentiles, while the lighter shades of pink show lower income disparities between the 25th and 90th income percentiles.
The top five “most equal” metro areas in the U.S., according to the data, are Jacksonville, NC; Cleveland, TN; Goldsboro, NC; Ocala, FL; and Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL.
The website’s analysis points out that “In general, metro areas in the South and the Great Plains region tend to have less income inequality when comparing the differences between the 25th and 90th income percentiles. By contrast, metro areas in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and California areas have greater income inequality.”
