New York State has the second highest level of inequality in the country.¹
This income inequality level is measured by the Gini coefficient.
Scoring: Zero= total equality
One= total inequality
In 2013, the Gini coefficient for NY was about 0.510
Manhattan, specifically, has the biggest gap between rich and poor of any county in the nation²
- The richest households made 88 times as much money last year as the poorest 20 % of families
Nickolay Lamm created bar graphs that represent the median household net worth. He placed these graphs onto a map of New York City in order to visually demonstrate the income inequality in NYC.
Scale: “An area with a net worth of $400,000 would be represented by a bar 4 cm high, while a neighborhood with a net worth of $50,000 would only be .5 cm high.”
The tone and dynamics of this music clip changes as it follows a subway line. This demonstrates the income inequality throughout the boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx.
Inequality and New York’s Subway: “Interactive infographic” using data from the U.S. Census Bureau
- Noss, Amanda. “Household Income: 2013.” Census. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 Sept. 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. <http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/acs/acsbr13-02.pdf>.
- Roberts, Sam. “Gap Between Manhattan’s Rich and Poor Is Greatest in U.S., Census Finds.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/nyregion/gap-between-manhattans-rich-and-poor-is-greatest-in-us-census-finds.html>.