Since 1980, income inequality has fractured the nation.
 Share
|
Email
Print
|
Since 1980, income inequality has fractured the nation.
Most stories about inequality in America miss an important point: rising disparities are not just about investment bankers versus auto workers. They’re about entire communities of “winners” and “losers.” And as these communities continue to diverge, the idea of “an American economy” looks more and more like an anachronism.
We analyzed reams of demographic, economic, cultural, and political data to break the nation’s 3,141 counties into 12 statistically distinct “types of place.” When we look at family income over the past 30 years through that prism, the full picture of the income divide becomes clearer—and much starker.
Seven of our 12 county-types saw their median family incomes fall. “Immigration Nation” counties fared the worst, as Latino immigrants, many with little education, moved in. The “Service Worker Centers” also saw steep declines, as manufacturing dried up. Leading in growth were the well-educated “Monied Burbs,” where white-collar positions bloomed in office parks. Income in the “Industrial Metropolises” also rose, driven by gentrification and new wealth in inner-ring suburbs.
David H. Freedman on smartphone apps and the perfected self, Mark Bowden on being in the dumb kids' class, James Parker on Glenn Beck, Isaac Chotiner on P. G. Wodehouse, and more
Browse back issues of The Atlantic that have appeared on the Web. From September 1995 to the present, the archive is essentially complete, with the exception of a few articles, the online rights to which are held exclusively by the authors.
See All Back Issues: September 1995
Journalism's Gender Imbalance Includes Who's Quoted, Too
Obama Makes Nice with Poland
How 'The Wire' Found Its Omar: 'The Omars of the World are Warriors'
Why You Should Say 'Hello' to Strangers on the Street
Rethinking the Economics of Traffic Congestion
How to Handle a City of Tourists
New York City Ballet: A Crystal Palace 
The Speed of Light 
Synthetic Biology 
Join the Discussion
After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus