Pulling
Apart:
A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends - Methodology
by Kathryn Larin and Elizabeth McNichol
Methodological Appendix
The data used in this report are from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, a survey of a nationally representative sample of households conducted every year in March. The survey provides information on family income, which includes not only wages and salaries, but also other sources of cash income such as interest income and cash benefits, including veterans assistance, welfare payments, and child support income.
The Income of Some Families is Understated
For two reasons, the data on family income used for this analysis significantly understates the incomes of the top 20 percent of families. First, the Census Bureau definition of family income does not include income from capital gains. Second, the publicly available data understate the wages and salaries of very high-income workers.
Capital gains are the profits made from the sale of stocks, real estate, and other assets. Census calculations based on data from the Internal Revenue Service show that the top 20 percent of families received 80 percent of all capital gains in 1996. In recent years, as the value of stocks has surged, capital gains have increased, especially for the highest-income investors. Since capital gains are heavily concentrated among high-income families, the effect of excluding these gains from family income is to understate income much more for high-income families than for the middle class or the poor.
The data also understate the wages of very high-income workers because the Census data do not reflect earnings above $100,000 for any one job. An executive with a salary of $350,000 is therefore counted as having earnings of $100,000 $250,000 less than his or her true income from that job.
Over the past twenty years, the maximum earnings attributed to any one job have changed. During the first time period considered in this analysis, 1978-1980, only the first $50,000 earned in any single job was reflected in the data. When adjusted for inflation, that $50,000 is the equivalent of approximately $107,000 in 1997.
During the second time period analyzed in this report, 1985-1987, earnings up to $100,000 were recorded in the data. The inflation-adjusted value of $100,000 in earnings in the 1980s is approximately $144,000. In other words, in the 1980s, up to $144,000 in earnings from a single job was reflected in the data.
The Census Bureau changed the way it top-codes the data in 1995. In 1994, only the first $100,000 in earnings from any one job were included in the public use data files. Starting in 1995, the Census Bureaus public use file used an averaging procedure that in part reflected higher earnings without identifying the actual earnings on specific records. This eliminates much of the bias introduced by the top-coding of earnings. Only about one-half of one percent of the individual records analyzed in this report were affected by this change in the top-code in 1996. Thus, while a small portion of the increase in income inequality reported in this analysis may be the result of changes in the coding methodology employed by the Census Bureau for the years 1995 and 1996, the significance to the results of the study is likely to be minor.
To a lesser degree, the incomes of families in the bottom fifth of the income distribution are also understated. Non-cash government benefits such as Food Stamps, school lunches, and housing subsidies are not included as income in this analysis.
Some of the families report having negative incomes during a given year. Most of these families own small businesses and their business losses during a year exceeded their incomes. Following the methodology used by the Congressional Budget Office in its income distribution analyses, negative incomes are not included in the calculations of average incomes of families in the bottom fifth of the income distribution.
The data on family income ignore another important factor contributing to a family's disposable income the effect of federal and state tax systems. The data presented in this analysis are for pre-tax, rather than post-tax income. Income taxes paid and earned income tax credits received are therefore not taken into consideration in the analysis.
Adjustment for Inflation
The data presented in this report are adjusted for inflation to reflect 1997 dollars. The adjustment was made using the Gross Domestic Product deflator for personal consumption expenditures. Researchers tracing trends in income over time typically use either the GDP deflator for personal consumption expenditures or the Consumer Price Index to adjust for inflation.
The Consumer Price Index came under some scrutiny after the Senate Finance Committee requested the formation of a commission to study the index. The Advisory Commission, chaired by Stanford University economist Michael Boskin, issued a report suggesting that the CPI overstates changes in the cost of living by as much as 0.8 to 1.6 percentage points per year. The commission cited two primary causes for the overstatement: substitution bias and quality bias. Substitution bias arises because the CPI is constructed by tracing the price changes in a fixed basket of goods and services. If the goods and services purchased by a typical consumer change over time, these changes are not reflected in the CPI until the updated purchasing patterns reflected in a new consumer survey are incorporated into the index. The incorporation of a new consumer survey is typically done approximately every 10 years. Quality bias arises when the index fails to account fully for quality improvements in goods and services.
The GDP deflator for personal consumption expenditures is constructed using the price of goods actually purchased each year. Changes in purchasing patterns of consumers are automatically incorporated into the index. The GDP deflator for personal consumption expenditures, therefore, does not have substitution bias. There may be some quality bias if changes in quality are not fully accounted for, but the total bias is likely to be smaller than for the CPI.
The conclusions of the analysis presented here would not change if the CPI were used to deflate incomes rather than the GDP deflator for personal consumption expenditures. Both indexes show that family income disparities have continued to increase over the past two decades.
Appendix
Table 1: Income Ranges for Each Fifth of Families with Children, by State, '78-'80 |
|||||
State | Bottom fifth begins at: |
Next-to-bottom fifth begins at: |
Middle fifth begins at: |
Next-to-top fifth begins at: |
Top fifth begins at: |
Alabama | $0 | $16,074 | $27,788 | $40,845 | $55,777 |
Alaska | $0 | $21,381 | $40,988 | $64,793 | $95,830 |
Arizona | $0 | $21,303 | $35,325 | $48,519 | $68,492 |
Arkansas | $0 | $14,427 | $26,079 | $37,226 | $51,013 |
California | $0 | $20,682 | $35,554 | $50,636 | $71,077 |
Colorado | $0 | $25,482 | $39,290 | $53,366 | $74,521 |
Connecticut | $0 | $28,301 | $41,664 | $53,673 | $71,370 |
Delaware | $0 | $22,692 | $35,720 | $49,754 | $68,313 |
Florida | $0 | $16,793 | $28,562 | $40,719 | $58,529 |
Georgia | $0 | $19,168 | $32,291 | $46,858 | $63,306 |
Hawaii | $0 | $21,326 | $38,823 | $53,868 | $72,933 |
Idaho | $0 | $20,835 | $34,296 | $44,971 | $59,274 |
Illinois | $0 | $21,548 | $37,954 | $52,378 | $71,893 |
Indiana | $0 | $22,133 | $35,229 | $46,148 | $60,056 |
Iowa | $0 | $25,539 | $38,136 | $49,972 | $66,368 |
Kansas | $0 | $23,257 | $35,761 | $47,363 | $64,634 |
Kentucky | $0 | $18,356 | $31,367 | $43,839 | $59,820 |
Louisiana | $0 | $16,912 | $30,159 | $44,908 | $62,968 |
Maine | $0 | $18,632 | $30,083 | $41,444 | $54,983 |
Maryland | $0 | $25,765 | $41,998 | $56,990 | $82,331 |
Massachusetts | $0 | $20,976 | $37,228 | $50,552 | $69,833 |
Michigan | $0 | $23,855 | $39,916 | $52,239 | $70,568 |
Minnesota | $0 | $26,382 | $38,883 | $52,167 | $68,198 |
Mississippi | $0 | $15,087 | $26,753 | $39,149 | $54,772 |
Missouri | $0 | $21,303 | $34,104 | $46,114 | $61,351 |
Montana | $0 | $17,862 | $30,019 | $44,806 | $60,697 |
Nebraska | $0 | $22,411 | $36,388 | $47,861 | $64,896 |
Nevada | $0 | $22,002 | $37,191 | $51,126 | $70,230 |
New Hampshire | $0 | $25,398 | $37,931 | $49,696 | $63,582 |
New Jersey | $0 | $22,299 | $38,680 | $54,256 | $73,511 |
New Mexico | $0 | $16,131 | $27,536 | $41,829 | $62,378 |
New York | $0 | $18,175 | $33,523 | $47,607 | $65,667 |
North Carolina | $0 | $18,806 | $30,892 | $43,476 | $58,628 |
North Dakota | $0 | $19,794 | $33,122 | $45,596 | $61,558 |
Ohio | $0 | $23,753 | $37,554 | $50,296 | $66,072 |
Oklahoma | $0 | $20,850 | $32,128 | $45,058 | $62,679 |
Oregon | $0 | $22,104 | $36,306 | $48,386 | $64,510 |
Pennsylvania | $0 | $23,313 | $37,503 | $47,715 | $64,743 |
Rhode Island | $0 | $21,133 | $35,728 | $47,784 | $62,989 |
South Carolina | $0 | $16,638 | $27,670 | $40,225 | $56,747 |
South Dakota | $0 | $16,857 | $29,298 | $41,003 | $57,692 |
Tennessee | $0 | $17,097 | $29,087 | $40,473 | $55,732 |
Texas | $0 | $18,998 | $34,022 | $48,215 | $65,273 |
Utah | $0 | $24,336 | $36,399 | $47,428 | $62,236 |
Vermont | $0 | $20,201 | $30,817 | $43,312 | $62,201 |
Virginia | $0 | $21,715 | $36,645 | $50,346 | $70,333 |
Washington | $0 | $20,261 | $36,553 | $49,745 | $67,339 |
West Virginia | $0 | $19,340 | $31,152 | $40,698 | $54,101 |
Wisconsin | $0 | $26,419 | $39,591 | $51,837 | $69,504 |
Wyoming | $0 | $28,059 | $42,054 | $53,593 | $68,140 |
District of Columbia | $0 | $12,343 | $23,595 | $38,843 | $60,866 |
Total U.S. | $0 | $20,489 | $34,800 | $48,189 | $65,688 |
Appendix
Table 2: Income Ranges for Each Fifth of Families with Children, by State, '85-'87 |
|||||
State | Bottom fifth begins at: |
Next-to-bottom fifth begins at: |
Middle fifth begins at: |
Next-to-top fifth begins at: |
Top fifth begins at: |
Alabama | $0 | $10,939 | $24,585 | $38,965 | $56,949 |
Alaska | $0 | $23,997 | $40,576 | $60,448 | $89,612 |
Arizona | $0 | $20,457 | $32,876 | $47,853 | $66,985 |
Arkansas | $0 | $12,595 | $23,821 | $36,933 | $53,769 |
California | $0 | $18,872 | $35,884 | $53,171 | $76,864 |
Colorado | $0 | $19,691 | $34,395 | $52,228 | $75,265 |
Connecticut | $0 | $27,650 | $47,357 | $64,359 | $89,279 |
Delaware | $0 | $20,093 | $35,116 | $49,865 | $70,177 |
Florida | $0 | $17,810 | $30,404 | $44,227 | $66,991 |
Georgia | $0 | $16,385 | $29,982 | $47,317 | $68,010 |
Hawaii | $0 | $22,356 | $38,433 | $58,981 | $85,286 |
Idaho | $0 | $17,477 | $28,583 | $40,487 | $55,630 |
Illinois | $0 | $16,601 | $35,479 | $50,559 | $71,223 |
Indiana | $0 | $18,533 | $31,706 | $44,246 | $59,922 |
Iowa | $0 | $17,569 | $30,275 | $43,248 | $57,814 |
Kansas | $0 | $23,061 | $36,690 | $50,967 | $70,424 |
Kentucky | $0 | $15,014 | $26,466 | $40,337 | $58,939 |
Louisiana | $0 | $11,065 | $27,731 | $45,753 | $68,800 |
Maine | $0 | $19,122 | $32,327 | $44,458 | $60,887 |
Maryland | $0 | $25,076 | $40,588 | $59,502 | $82,818 |
Massachusetts | $0 | $23,135 | $42,206 | $59,060 | $81,804 |
Michigan | $0 | $16,355 | $35,257 | $52,439 | $73,845 |
Minnesota | $0 | $18,882 | $37,278 | $52,425 | $72,232 |
Mississippi | $0 | $12,246 | $24,139 | $36,999 | $55,958 |
Missouri | $0 | $17,344 | $33,153 | $47,172 | $63,776 |
Montana | $0 | $14,245 | $27,272 | $41,749 | $60,459 |
Nebraska | $0 | $18,244 | $31,235 | $43,685 | $59,017 |
Nevada | $0 | $19,642 | $32,147 | $47,863 | $68,338 |
New | $0 | $28,689 | $43,682 | $58,120 | $76,500 |
New Jersey | $0 | $26,004 | $45,924 | $63,562 | $87,580 |
New Mexico | $0 | $14,624 | $24,915 | $37,871 | $57,767 |
New York | $0 | $16,074 | $32,436 | $49,658 | $72,583 |
North Carolina | $0 | $18,099 | $30,667 | $44,616 | $62,291 |
North Dakota | $0 | $20,992 | $34,644 | $47,768 | $61,586 |
Ohio | $0 | $18,296 | $35,574 | $49,678 | $69,877 |
Oklahoma | $0 | $16,992 | $30,258 | $44,316 | $64,690 |
Oregon | $0 | $19,785 | $34,584 | $46,458 | $64,968 |
Pennsylvania | $0 | $20,971 | $35,818 | $49,086 | $67,901 |
Rhode Island | $0 | $23,384 | $39,532 | $53,445 | $70,973 |
South Carolina | $0 | $18,002 | $30,595 | $44,517 | $65,778 |
South Dakota | $0 | $15,540 | $28,347 | $41,062 | $56,449 |
Tennessee | $0 | $15,316 | $28,862 | $41,401 | $58,358 |
Texas | $0 | $16,926 | $31,458 | $48,915 | $70,606 |
Utah | $0 | $22,492 | $35,977 | $47,784 | $66,213 |
Vermont | $0 | $21,260 | $34,856 | $47,484 | $66,400 |
Virginia | $0 | $20,255 | $37,570 | $55,318 | $77,229 |
Washington | $0 | $15,801 | $31,420 | $49,520 | $70,150 |
West Virginia | $0 | $10,654 | $20,914 | $34,402 | $50,056 |
Wisconsin | $0 | $20,327 | $35,706 | $49,364 | $66,483 |
Wyoming | $0 | $20,034 | $36,646 | $54,259 | $70,470 |
District of | $0 | $12,778 | $25,762 | $40,412 | $71,974 |
Total U.S. | $0 | $17,761 | $33,360 | $48,976 | $70,008 |
Appendix
Table 3: Income Ranges for Each Fifth of Families with Children, by State, '94-'96 |
|||||
State | Bottom fifth begins at: |
Next-to-bottom fifth begins at: |
Middle fifth begins at: |
Next-to-top fifth begins at: |
Top fifth begins at: |
Alabama | $0 | $15,027 | $29,387 | $45,113 | $65,021 |
Alaska | $0 | $25,094 | $42,194 | $62,080 | $87,894 |
Arizona | $0 | $14,030 | $25,017 | $40,109 | $61,838 |
Arkansas | $0 | $15,680 | $26,260 | $39,640 | $55,923 |
California | $0 | $15,482 | $30,912 | $50,365 | $78,036 |
Colorado | $0 | $24,529 | $40,602 | $55,997 | $81,478 |
Connecticut | $0 | $20,454 | $41,717 | $63,092 | $92,363 |
Delaware | $0 | $20,042 | $34,125 | $52,792 | $78,412 |
Florida | $0 | $15,015 | $28,666 | $44,252 | $66,072 |
Georgia | $0 | $17,674 | $32,438 | $48,585 | $75,796 |
Hawaii | $0 | $20,594 | $36,647 | $55,575 | $78,947 |
Idaho | $0 | $16,784 | $32,888 | $46,308 | $67,417 |
Illinois | $0 | $18,630 | $36,299 | $54,388 | $79,288 |
Indiana | $0 | $19,079 | $31,002 | $47,410 | $65,132 |
Iowa | $0 | $21,496 | $35,113 | $49,298 | $66,238 |
Kansas | $0 | $18,975 | $32,846 | $48,203 | $71,388 |
Kentucky | $0 | $12,871 | $26,835 | $43,774 | $63,812 |
Louisiana | $0 | $12,784 | $25,122 | $41,079 | $60,441 |
Maine | $0 | $19,586 | $33,900 | $46,142 | $62,319 |
Maryland | $0 | $24,317 | $42,002 | $63,347 | $90,471 |
Massachusetts | $0 | $20,500 | $39,145 | $58,129 | $83,727 |
Michigan | $0 | $17,760 | $37,085 | $54,788 | $77,737 |
Minnesota | $0 | $24,180 | $41,405 | $58,372 | $79,113 |
Mississippi | $0 | $11,610 | $23,046 | $36,748 | $56,127 |
Missouri | $0 | $19,030 | $33,471 | $47,397 | $67,083 |
Montana | $0 | $16,449 | $27,661 | $42,244 | $61,481 |
Nebraska | $0 | $22,179 | $36,246 | $47,475 | $67,703 |
Nevada | $0 | $20,970 | $35,979 | $50,814 | $68,472 |
New Hampshire | $0 | $24,242 | $40,548 | $53,327 | $73,709 |
New Jersey | $0 | $25,609 | $47,714 | $66,704 | $95,605 |
New Mexico | $0 | $11,658 | $23,039 | $36,950 | $57,566 |
New York | $0 | $13,085 | $30,698 | $49,430 | $74,680 |
North Carolina | $0 | $17,273 | $31,550 | $48,679 | $67,832 |
North Dakota | $0 | $21,271 | $35,301 | $47,234 | $62,117 |
Ohio | $0 | $17,769 | $34,613 | $50,323 | $71,735 |
Oklahoma | $0 | $14,122 | $27,646 | $41,590 | $60,878 |
Oregon | $0 | $17,191 | $30,231 | $44,607 | $64,844 |
Pennsylvania | $0 | $19,450 | $36,715 | $53,581 | $76,825 |
Rhode Island | $0 | $19,443 | $35,741 | $49,383 | $70,596 |
South Carolina | $0 | $15,381 | $27,910 | $43,966 | $66,095 |
South Dakota | $0 | $18,625 | $33,002 | $46,299 | $65,742 |
Tennessee | $0 | $16,962 | $29,073 | $43,477 | $61,525 |
Texas | $0 | $15,158 | $28,204 | $44,586 | $69,872 |
Utah | $0 | $16,918 | $32,470 | $49,481 | $72,889 |
Vermont | $0 | $24,675 | $37,925 | $51,667 | $71,240 |
Virginia | $0 | $20,523 | $34,627 | $49,995 | $68,340 |
Washington | $0 | $19,839 | $33,989 | $49,345 | $71,889 |
West Virginia | $0 | $18,196 | $33,101 | $50,328 | $74,608 |
Wisconsin | $0 | $12,337 | $24,664 | $37,553 | $56,567 |
Wyoming | $0 | $22,645 | $40,049 | $55,821 | $72,022 |
District of | $0 | $9,437 | $20,489 | $38,059 | $70,375 |
Total U.S. | $0 | $19,372 | $32,787 | $49,500 | $66,441 |
Appendix Table
4: Average Incomes of Fifths of Families with Children in '78-'80 through '94-'96, by State |
||||||||||||
Bottom fifth | Next-to-bottom fifth | Middle fifth | ||||||||||
State | '78-'80 | '85-'87 | '94-'96 | '78-'80 | '85-'87 | '94-'96 | '78-'80 | '85-'87 | '94-'96 | |||
Alabama | $8,392 | $5,470 | $7,531 | $21,799 | $17,785 | $22,047 | $34,211 | $31,233 | $37,799 | |||
Alaska | $13,165 | $14,369 | $14,868 | $30,183 | $32,045 | $33,545 | $51,362 | $49,749 | $52,488 | |||
Arizona | $12,971 | $11,589 | $7,273 | $28,304 | $26,815 | $19,375 | $41,237 | $40,622 | $32,177 | |||
Arkansas | $7,969 | $6,445 | $8,995 | $20,574 | $18,350 | $20,914 | $31,771 | $30,392 | $32,384 | |||
California | $12,298 | $11,279 | $9,033 | $27,860 | $27,632 | $22,882 | $43,110 | $44,268 | $40,312 | |||
Colorado | $15,151 | $10,281 | $14,326 | $32,324 | $27,196 | $32,878 | $46,166 | $42,648 | $47,797 | |||
Connecticut | $16,554 | $15,066 | $10,415 | $35,097 | $37,740 | $31,448 | $47,811 | $55,897 | $52,576 | |||
Delaware | $12,852 | $11,507 | $12,041 | $29,141 | $26,846 | $27,813 | $43,224 | $42,810 | $42,939 | |||
District of Columbia | $7,275 | $6,400 | $5,293 | $18,580 | $19,313 | $14,689 | $30,684 | $31,873 | $29,076 | |||
Florida | $9,481 | $9,996 | $7,705 | $22,810 | $24,350 | $21,898 | $34,397 | $36,881 | $35,987 | |||
Georgia | $11,091 | $8,394 | $9,978 | $25,607 | $23,484 | $25,220 | $39,642 | $39,160 | $40,248 | |||
Hawaii | $13,492 | $12,930 | $12,735 | $29,749 | $30,139 | $29,202 | $46,349 | $48,353 | $44,895 | |||
Idaho | $12,501 | $9,569 | $10,721 | $27,987 | $23,174 | $24,929 | $39,656 | $34,274 | $39,381 | |||
Illinois | $11,464 | $8,377 | $10,002 | $30,552 | $26,096 | $27,210 | $45,306 | $43,102 | $45,457 | |||
Indiana | $12,918 | $10,264 | $11,115 | $29,044 | $24,723 | $25,776 | $40,783 | $37,938 | $38,807 | |||
Iowa | $15,011 | $9,661 | $13,148 | $32,036 | $23,913 | $28,607 | $43,936 | $36,745 | $42,439 | |||
Kansas | $14,630 | $12,655 | $10,790 | $29,885 | $30,490 | $26,377 | $41,682 | $43,629 | $40,752 | |||
Kentucky | $11,018 | $8,275 | $7,364 | $24,777 | $20,350 | $19,854 | $37,661 | $33,390 | $35,175 | |||
Louisiana | $9,312 | $5,766 | $6,430 | $23,627 | $18,928 | $18,324 | $37,804 | $36,678 | $32,771 | |||
Maine | $11,724 | $10,503 | $11,275 | $24,340 | $25,230 | $27,167 | $35,793 | $38,138 | $39,886 | |||
Maryland | $14,624 | $13,589 | $13,346 | $34,638 | $32,463 | $33,004 | $49,068 | $49,975 | $52,992 | |||
Massachusetts | $12,448 | $11,674 | $10,694 | $29,460 | $33,410 | $29,816 | $43,851 | $50,422 | $48,333 | |||
Michigan | $13,464 | $8,447 | $9,257 | $32,323 | $26,401 | $27,400 | $46,137 | $43,705 | $45,599 | |||
Minnesota | $15,811 | $10,682 | $14,655 | $32,495 | $28,310 | $32,537 | $45,202 | $44,739 | $49,919 | |||
Mississippi | $8,631 | $6,424 | $6,257 | $21,007 | $18,137 | $17,108 | $32,649 | $30,398 | $29,685 | |||
Missouri | $12,676 | $8,933 | $11,090 | $27,556 | $24,711 | $26,423 | $40,088 | $39,961 | $40,370 | |||
Montana | $10,281 | $8,088 | $9,051 | $24,114 | $20,375 | $22,102 | $38,020 | $34,914 | $35,332 | |||
Nebraska | $13,263 | $10,738 | $12,546 | $29,689 | $25,121 | $29,504 | $41,991 | $37,574 | $41,535 | |||
Nevada | $13,685 | $10,449 | $12,276 | $29,115 | $25,506 | $28,180 | $44,052 | $39,738 | $43,313 | |||
New Hampshire | $15,870 | $19,412 | $14,299 | $31,525 | $36,953 | $32,567 | $43,251 | $50,582 | $46,524 | |||
New Jersey | $12,931 | $13,251 | $14,211 | $30,121 | $36,507 | $35,823 | $46,333 | $55,041 | $56,718 | |||
New Mexico | $8,837 | $8,111 | $6,408 | $21,373 | $19,845 | $17,112 | $34,237 | $30,793 | $29,557 | |||
New York | $10,587 | $8,483 | $6,787 | $25,516 | $24,180 | $21,909 | $40,721 | $40,958 | $39,255 | |||
North Carolina | $11,543 | $9,697 | $9,363 | $24,710 | $24,526 | $24,325 | $37,212 | $37,250 | $40,057 | |||
North Dakota | $11,056 | $11,670 | $12,424 | $26,252 | $28,349 | $28,161 | $39,064 | $40,940 | $41,408 | |||
Ohio | $13,886 | $9,567 | $9,346 | $31,080 | $27,367 | $26,350 | $43,670 | $42,642 | $42,528 | |||
Oklahoma | $12,618 | $8,930 | $7,483 | $26,597 | $23,480 | $20,914 | $38,528 | $37,025 | $34,237 | |||
Oregon | $12,211 | $11,440 | $9,627 | $29,572 | $26,750 | $24,371 | $42,442 | $40,848 | $37,588 | |||
Pennsylvania | $13,747 | $11,521 | $10,512 | $30,456 | $28,431 | $28,303 | $42,493 | $42,147 | $44,670 | |||
Rhode Island | $11,900 | $11,287 | $9,914 | $29,141 | $31,464 | $27,831 | $41,085 | $46,256 | $42,593 | |||
South Carolina | $9,467 | $9,126 | $8,146 | $22,158 | $24,407 | $22,017 | $34,152 | $37,335 | $35,188 | |||
South Dakota | $10,707 | $8,183 | $9,474 | $22,944 | $22,191 | $25,130 | $35,647 | $34,326 | $39,620 | |||
Tennessee | $9,548 | $8,200 | $8,156 | $23,108 | $22,145 | $23,336 | $34,845 | $35,318 | $36,148 | |||
Texas | $10,301 | $8,906 | $8,642 | $26,334 | $24,002 | $21,546 | $40,895 | $39,963 | $36,243 | |||
Utah | $15,045 | $13,517 | $15,709 | $30,333 | $28,746 | $31,648 | $41,538 | $41,802 | $44,846 | |||
Vermont | $12,752 | $12,327 | $13,107 | $26,005 | $28,486 | $27,299 | $36,987 | $40,884 | $43,114 | |||
Virginia | $12,110 | $11,094 | $10,816 | $29,399 | $29,188 | $27,121 | $43,650 | $46,428 | $41,464 | |||
Washington | $11,681 | $8,868 | $10,116 | $28,770 | $23,666 | $25,877 | $43,423 | $40,559 | $41,277 | |||
West Virginia | $11,418 | $5,586 | $6,439 | $25,006 | $15,744 | $18,812 | $36,184 | $27,252 | $30,962 | |||
Wisconsin | $15,725 | $12,166 | $13,398 | $33,050 | $28,119 | $31,737 | $45,663 | $43,091 | $47,571 | |||
Wyoming | $17,274 | $11,578 | $11,174 | $35,226 | $28,548 | $26,039 | $47,836 | $44,677 | $41,073 | |||
Total U.S. | $11,759 | $9,529 | $9,254 | $27,709 | $25,612 | $24,724 | $41,434 | $41,111 | $40,721 |
Appendix
Table 4: Average Incomes of Fifths of Families with Children in '78-'80 through '94-'96, by State (continued) |
||||||||
Next-to-top fifth | Top fifth | |||||||
State | '78-'80 | '85-'87 | '94-'96 | '78-'80 | '85-'87 | '94-'96* | ||
Alabama | $47,736 | $46,939 | $54,781 | $77,461 | $77,634 | $99,062 | ||
Alaska | $78,948 | $73,378 | $73,398 | $123,938 | $127,359 | $129,02 | ||
Arizona | $56,979 | $56,538 | $50,245 | $92,256 | $100,795 | $103,39 | ||
Arkansas | $44,130 | $44,674 | $47,056 | $73,325 | $77,362 | $83,434 | ||
California | $60,155 | $63,525 | $62,942 | $98,023 | $110,625 | $127,71 | ||
Colorado | $62,736 | $63,153 | $66,832 | $105,858 | $113,507 | $131,36 | ||
Connecticut | $61,452 | $75,268 | $76,768 | $96,782 | $132,679 | $147,59 | ||
Delaware | $58,070 | $59,687 | $62,873 | $89,720 | $92,588 | $116,96 | ||
District of Columbia | $49,857 | $53,947 | $52,017 | $95,639 | $113,447 | $149,50 | ||
Florida | $49,453 | $54,178 | $54,572 | $81,238 | $102,181 | $107,81 | ||
Georgia | $54,722 | $56,144 | $60,962 | $87,746 | $97,844 | $123,83 | ||
Hawaii | $62,634 | $72,178 | $65,930 | $95,222 | $111,749 | $116,06 | ||
Idaho | $51,205 | $47,778 | $54,664 | $82,450 | $80,004 | $104,72 | ||
Illinois | $61,423 | $59,315 | $65,478 | $97,078 | $101,582 | $123,23 | ||
Indiana | $52,776 | $51,958 | $55,852 | $77,059 | $82,474 | $110,87 | ||
Iowa | $57,123 | $50,295 | $57,218 | $88,058 | $77,825 | $104,25 | ||
Kansas | $54,655 | $59,295 | $59,191 | $84,424 | $95,981 | $110,34 | ||
Kentucky | $51,952 | $49,150 | $52,751 | $79,591 | $81,460 | $99,210 | ||
Louisiana | $53,206 | $55,921 | $49,589 | $87,823 | $96,252 | $102,33 | ||
Maine | $47,476 | $51,487 | $53,301 | $75,932 | $84,298 | $92,457 | ||
Maryland | $68,672 | $70,231 | $74,948 | $108,277 | $116,054 | $147,97 | ||
Massachusetts | $58,934 | $69,110 | $70,064 | $91,805 | $115,696 | $132,96 | ||
Michigan | $60,832 | $62,496 | $65,077 | $96,254 | $102,689 | $117,10 | ||
Minnesota | $59,156 | $61,533 | $68,656 | $90,748 | $98,154 | $120,34 | ||
Mississippi | $46,064 | $46,193 | $45,211 | $77,866 | $78,639 | $80,980 | ||
Missouri | $52,844 | $54,593 | $55,254 | $85,039 | $88,969 | $100,83 | ||
Montana | $52,171 | $50,451 | $50,933 | $82,742 | $82,195 | $89,902 | ||
Nebraska | $55,253 | $50,103 | $57,720 | $83,374 | $87,280 | $102,99 | ||
Nevada | $59,404 | $56,522 | $59,110 | $92,215 | $93,288 | $98,693 | ||
New Hampshire | $55,821 | $66,623 | $63,355 | $86,314 | $102,759 | $116,01 | ||
New Jersey | $62,888 | $73,929 | $79,393 | $98,126 | $122,662 | $143,01 | ||
New Mexico | $51,397 | $46,260 | $46,107 | $84,389 | $86,111 | $91,741 | ||
New York | $55,680 | $59,786 | $60,848 | $90,808 | $107,669 | $132,39 | ||
North Carolina | $50,752 | $52,304 | $57,486 | $78,512 | $88,827 | $107,49 | ||
North Dakota | $52,598 | $54,429 | $54,527 | $86,224 | $87,050 | $91,041 | ||
Ohio | $57,341 | $58,799 | $59,785 | $90,793 | $98,067 | $111,89 | ||
Oklahoma | $53,497 | $52,846 | $50,127 | $86,653 | $89,708 | $94,380 | ||
Oregon | $55,779 | $54,021 | $53,352 | $85,081 | $92,471 | $97,589 | ||
Pennsylvania | $55,261 | $57,393 | $63,813 | $87,409 | $95,376 | $124,53 | ||
Rhode Island | $55,503 | $61,121 | $58,096 | $84,812 | $98,473 | $111,01 | ||
South Carolina | $48,020 | $54,034 | $54,492 | $79,770 | $88,724 | $96,712 | ||
South Dakota | $48,760 | $47,489 | $55,177 | $80,134 | $78,363 | $93,822 | ||
Tennessee | $47,666 | $49,514 | $51,222 | $76,507 | $83,912 | $106,96 | ||
Texas | $56,020 | $58,446 | $55,986 | $94,031 | $102,517 | $113,14 | ||
Utah | $54,005 | $56,415 | $60,392 | $86,570 | $91,826 | $110,93 | ||
Vermont | $51,033 | $56,196 | $57,853 | $84,537 | $93,010 | $97,898 | ||
Virginia | $59,203 | $65,236 | $60,482 | $94,158 | $110,862 | $116,20 | ||
Washington | $57,510 | $58,781 | $61,850 | $94,265 | $104,131 | $112,50 | ||
West Virginia | $46,375 | $41,863 | $45,519 | $72,108 | $70,141 | $84,479 | ||
Wisconsin | $59,952 | $57,185 | $63,844 | $93,764 | $92,512 | $103,55 | ||
Wyoming | $59,754 | $61,854 | $57,117 | $92,500 | $96,260 | $94,845 | ||
Total U.S. | $56,147 | $58,420 | $60,150 | $90,728 | $101,035 | $117,499 | ||
*Due to a technical error, the last digit in some entries does not appear. This error is being resolved. The revision will be posted shortly. |