December 16, 1997

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

PENNSYLVANIA

Inequality has been increasing in Pennsylvania for nearly two decades. This can be observed by ranking all Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania. 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 86 percent since the 1970s. The gap between the rich and the poor increased faster than in all but 15 states. The gap between the rich and the middle class increased faster than in all but 8 states.

 

The Recent Trend

Over the past decade, income inequality has increased in Pennsylvania. While the average incomes of the richest families with children have increased since the mid-1980s, the average incomes of the poorest fifth of families have fallen.

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 five states. The gap between the rich and the middle class also increased faster than in all but six states.


End Notes

1. The direction of this change was not statistically significant at the 95 percent level of confidence.