Low-income Americans have borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. They may also get left behind in the recovery.
Income inequality has increased dramatically in the United States over recent decades, surpassing its previous peak in the 1920s.
In 2016, the average income among the bottom 24.9 million households was US$21,000. Meanwhile, the top 1%, or 1.2 million households, earned an average household income of $1.8 million.
These disparities have spurred social movements and become a central issue for some candidates in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
However, much of the attention has focused on inequality across the entire U.S. population, regardless of where individuals live.
Our research and other studies show that levels of income inequality within counties and cities vary considerably across the country.
Challenges in rural areas
Our work focuses specifically on differences in inc...