December 16, 1997

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

OHIO

Inequality has been increasing in Ohio for nearly two decades. This can be observed by ranking all Ohio 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 Ohio. 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 grew by 83 percent since the 1970s. The gap between the rich and poor increased faster than in all but seven states. The gap between the rich and the middle class increased faster than in all but 20 states.

 

The Recent Trend

Over the past decade, income inequality increased in Ohio. While the average incomes of the richest fifth of families with children have increased since the mid-1980s, the average incomes of the poor and middle class families have stayed approximately level.

The gap between the top fifth of families and the bottom fifth of families increased between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s as did the gap between the rich and the middle class.