December 16, 1997

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

IOWA

Inequality has been increasing in Iowa over the past two decades. This can be observed by ranking all Iowa 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 Iowa. 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 35 percent since the 1970s.

 

The Recent Trend

Over the past decade, income inequality has remained high in Iowa. The average income of the richest fifth of families has increased faster than the incomes of middle class families while the incomes of the richest fifth and poorest fifth of families have grown at about the same pace.