A Reminder about Income Inequality in Ward 6

Last time I checked, census tract 71 (light blue) was the poorest tract in Ward 6. It is located south of Pennsylvania Ave SE and east of 11th, just about two blocks from the wealthiest census tract in Ward 6: census tract 67 (dark blue). Census tract 67 is south of East Capitol, north of South Carolina Ave, and between 8th and 15th SE. Census tracts generally have between 1,500 and 8,000 people (ideally with 4,000 people).


View Census Tract 67 and 71 in a larger map

From the Census' American Community Survey (2009), we can see that the poorest census tract actually reflects the income distribution in the US. About 2% of American households make over $200,000, 20% make over $100,000, 50% make less than $50,000, but the under $10,000 category is much larger in the tract than in the national numbers.

We can also see that the wealthiest census tract reflects the national income distribution *turned upside down,* the inverse of the national income distribution, with a rich majority and a poor minority in contrast to the poor majority and rich minority in the country as a whole. In census tract 67, well over 80% of households make over $100,000. In the US, about 80% of households make less than $100,000.

Poorest by Income: Census Tract 71

Household Income over $200,000	1.9%
Household Income over $100,000	20.4%
Household Income under $50,000	59.1%
Household Income under $10,000	32.4%
Unemployment Rate	20.0%

Richest by Income: Census Tract 67

Household Income over $200,000	24.6%
Household Income over $100,000	65.8%
Household Income under $50,000	10.8%
Household Income under $10,000	1.0%
Unemployment Rate	2.6%

What are the consequences of such significant income inequality for a community?