The gap between rich and poor Americans has risen in more than four of every five U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan areas during the last decade, according to a Social Explorer analysis of Census Bureau data.

The American Community Survey data released in December showed only one city — Bridgeport, Conn. — among the five most unequal places every year between 2010 and 2018. The Census Bureau measures the distribution of income with a Gini index, a score between 0 and 1 that was created by an Italian sociologist and is the most commonly used method of gauging inequality. A Gini index of 0 means all income is distributed equally; a Gini index of 1 indicates that one household has all the income. Nationwide, the Gini has risen from 0.467 in 2010 to 0.482 in 2018.

Visualize and analyze income distribution from the year 2010 to 2018. Click here to explore further.

Rising income inequality  indicates a decline in middle class households, which is often an early indicator of political instability. The U.S. Gini index places it 34th among the 39 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

The least equal place in the U.S. in 2018 was Cordele, Ga., a southern Georgia micropolitan statistical area that calls itself the “Watermelon Capital of the World.” The Gini index in Cordele was 0.550, slightly higher than the index figure for Hong Kong.

The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn., metropolitan statistical area was the second-least equal place in the U.S., but ranked first among metros, which the Census Bureau defines as urban places with more than 50,000 people. Bridgeport, which is home to hedge fund billionaires and some of the nation’s poorest residents, has been the least equal metro every year since 2010, the first year that the Census Bureau began calculating the Gini index for individual places. Its 2018 Gini was 0.543.

Other places with the highest levels of inequality in 2018 included Natchitoches, La. (0.549); Vidalia, Ga. (0.548); and Vidalia, Ga (0.548). Among states, the highest Gini indices were found in the District of Columbia (0.528); New York (0.514); and Connecticut (0.496).

The mining and farming micro of Winnemucca, Nev., was the most equal place in the U.S. in 2017, according to the Census Bureau data. The northern Nevada micro, which is home to one of the world’s largest potato farms, registered a Gini of 0.366 – about the same as Greece or New Zealand.

Other micro areas with low levels of inequality included Junction City, Kan. (0.376); Urbana, Ohio (0.380); Huntington, Ind. (0.383); and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. (0.384). Among metropolitan statistical areas, Ogden, Utah, has the lowest levels of inequality, with a Gini of 0.393, slightly below  Sri Lanka. States with the lowest Gini index figures in 2017 included Alaska (0.424); Utah (0.426); and Wyoming (0.435).

The greatest increases in income inequality since 2010 occurred in Cordele (a jump of 0.079 to 0.550); Vidalia, Ga. (a 0.075 increase to 0.548); and Valdosta, Ga. (an increase of 0.074 to 0.529). The largest drops were discovered in Snyder, Texas (down 0.089 to 0.412); Andrews, Texas (a drop of 0.08 to 0.451); and Guymon, Okla. (a decline of 0.069 to 0.388).

Author: Frank Bass