December 16, 1997

Pulling Apart:
A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends

CONNECTICUT

Inequality has been increasing in Connecticut for nearly two decades. This can be observed by ranking all Connecticut families with children according to their income level, dividing them into five groups (or fifths) of equal size, and calculating the average income of each fifth of families. This analysis shows by the mid-1990s:

 

The Long-Term Trend

Since the late 1970s, income inequality has increased in Connecticut. The long-term economic growth of the past two decades was not shared evenly among the poor, the rich, and the middle class. Instead, the top fifth of families with children fared substantially better than other income groups.

The gap between the top fifth of families and the bottom fifth of families more than doubled since the 1970s. The gap between the rich and the poor increased faster than in any other state. The gap between the rich and the middle class increased faster than in all but 5 states.

 

The Recent Trend

Over the past decade, income inequality has worsened in Connecticut. The average income of the richest fifth of families has increased while the incomes of poor and middle class families declined.

The gap between the top fifth of families and the bottom fifth of families increased between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s faster than in all but one state, while the gap between the rich and the middle class increased faster than in all but 15 states.