The Geography of Income Variations by states; Variations within metropolitan areas

The Facts 4 Median incomes, poverty rates and degree of income inequality vary across states 4 In metropolitan areas, poor people tend to be concentrated in neighborhoods with other poor people 4 Poor neighborhoods tend to be concentrated in central cities.

Poorest States/Richest States States with Highest Median Incomes Maryland 52,310 Alaska 51,509 Connecticut 50,798 New Jersey 49,930 Colorado 48, 346 States with Lowest Median Incomes West Virginia 29,433 Arkansas 29,762 Montana 30,244 New Mexico 32,475 Mississippi 32, 540 Source: retrieved 10/3/00http://

States with Highest Proportion Poor States with Highest Poverty Rates New Mexico 20.7 Louisiana 19.2 Mississippi 16.1 West Virginia 15.7 Texas 15.0 District of Columbia 14.9 States with Lowest Poverty Rates Utah 5.7 Indiana 6.7 Connecticut 7.1 Minnesota 7.2 Maryland 7.3 Iowa retrieved 10/3/00

States with Greatest Inequality States with Highest Top to Bottom Ratio New York 19.5 Louisiana 15.9 New Mexico 14.3 Arizona 14.2 Connecticut 14.2 California 14.1 States with Lowest Top to Bottom Ratio, Utah 7.1 North Dakota 7.3 Vermont 7.5 Wisconsin 7.7 Iowa 7.9 Nevada retrieved 4/9/98

Regional Variation 4 What are limitations in using Census data to compare incomes and poverty rates among states? 4 What explains differences in cost of living? 4 Other than differences in cost of living, what explains differences in income across regions and states?

Income Segregation 4 Why do neighborhoods tend to be segregated by income? 4 Why are poor people concentrated in central cities?

The Monocentric City Model 4 Transportation costs depend on distance from city center 4 In equilibrium, rental cost of housing plus transportation costs should equal each other in all locations 4 What’s wrong with this picture?

Consequences 4 Homelessness associated with wide disparity in incomes 4 Attributes of communities impact outcomes for indiviudals 4 Low tax base reduces expenditure on public goods and on publicly provided goods like education