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

ILLINOIS

Inequality has been increasing in Illinois for nearly two decades. This can be observed by ranking all Illinois 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 richest 20 percent of families with children had average incomes 12 times as large as the poorest 20 percent of families.

• The richest 20 percent of families with children had average incomes 2.7 times as large as the middle 20 percent of families.

The Long-Term Trend

Since the late 1970s, income inequality has increased in Illinois. 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 46 percent since the 1970s.

• The average income of the poorest fifth of families fell by $1,460 between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, from $11,460 to $10,000.

• The average income of the middle fifth of families increased by $150 between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, from $45,310 to $45,460.⁽¹⁾

• The average income of the richest fifth of families increased by $26,160 between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, from $97,080 to $123,230.

The Recent Trend

Over the past decade, income inequality has worsened in Illinois. While the average incomes of most families with children increased since the mid-1980s, the average income of the richest fifth of families has increased faster than the incomes of poor and middle class families.

The gap between the top fifth of families and the bottom fifth of families remains about the same between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, while the gap between the rich and the middle class increased.

• The average income of the poorest fifth of families increased by about $1,630 between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, from $8,380 to $10,000.

• The average income of the middle fifth of families increased by nearly $2,360 between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, from $43,100 to $45,460.

• The average income of the richest fifth of families increased by $21,650 between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, from $101,580 to $123,230.

End Notes

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

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