Atlanta Ranked Worst US City for Income Equality

Atlanta has surpassed Miami to become the city in the United States with the highest levels of income inequality. It previously ranked as the second worst. New Orleans now takes second place with Philadelphia third.

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According to the report by Bloomberg analysis, nine percent of households in Atlanta make less than $10,000 a year while 18 percent made $150,000 or more within the measured period.

Income inequality figures differ from those demarking wealth inequality because they do not calculate assets that do not constitute wages and government cash assistance.

The ranking shuffle of these cities is part of a widespread issue of economic disparity. Between 2009 and 2015, the incomes of the U.S.’s top 1 percent grew faster than the bottom 99 percent in 43 states, according to MarketWatch.

In July, the Economic Policy Institute published "the New Gilded Age," a report that investigated income inequality in the U.S.

“Rising inequality affects virtually every part of the country, not just large urban areas or financial centers,” said Estelle Sommeiller, co-author of the study and a socio-economist at the Institute for Research in Economic and Social Sciences.

The study found that since the 1970s, when credit cards boomed in popularity, income inequality has risen in every state. In most states, it has grown since the Great Recession after the stock market meltdown in 2008.

“It’s a persistent problem throughout the country — in big cities and small towns, in all 50 states. While the economy continues to recover, policymakers should make it a top priority to grow the incomes of working people while reining in corporate profits,” Sommeiller said.