http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/household-income-hits-new-high-but-inequality-still-wide-1045521475518

Incomes rose last year across all racial and age categories according to new census data. In 2016 middle class incomes reached their highest level income. In cities incomes went up by 5.4%, in suburbs they went up by 2.1% and in rural areas they did not rise at all. When economic analyst Steve Rattner was asked why this was the case he responded saying “Rural areas have become our new inner cities.” He briefly touched on how rural areas now are the main area of crime, they have low educational attainment, and low economic opportunities.

Poverty is also higher among prime-age workers in rural America compared to urban and suburban areas. Rural communities have lagged behind urban communities in job growth since the Great Recession. There were fears that Trumps proposals would be harmful to people in rural, small town America. So although it is good that the median income is rising, it is still important to look at the rural community gaps between social classes.

However, although incomes are rising, the gap between social classes and incomes remains the same. But the economic recovery is finally providing relief to America’s long running problem of stagnant middle class incomes thanks to healthy job growth and moderate wage gains. The Household income has hit $59,039 rising for the second straight year.

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Comment by Chrissy Jackson on November 19, 2017 at 7:57pm

Nice Post Katie. I think a lot of the rice in income can defiantly be linked to the rise in prices of the average cost of living. As the usual law of supply and demand goes when the demand of an item goes up so does the increase of the supply of it. When the desire for families to move and relocate goes up causing the demand for houses to go up, the supply of income must go up so that way these families can move. This type of cycle does not create an time of opportunity for families to escape the endless social class gap. It is my prayer every year that the gap between social classes becomes smaller and smaller. 

Comment by Miranda Snodgrass on December 4, 2017 at 10:55am

Katie, great post! The rise in income is definitely something to look at. Especially as the middle classes income continue rises, it seems that there is a larger gap between low income and middle- and upper-levels of income. The greater the gap, the greater the communities, both rural and urban, are at risk for separating groups of people based not just on their income, but as an overflow of that, their races. 

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