Marist Bureau of Economic Research findings point to substantial income inequality

March 7, 2019—A new report from the Marist Bureau of Economic Research highlights a growing concern: the distribution of income in the Hudson Valley is highly skewed in favor of households earning $75,000 and higher.

The report, “Income Distribution in the Hudson Valley,” includes county-level detail and statewide comparisons. The report was compiled using data from the Internal Revenue Service. The full report can be found here.

In 2016, Hudson Valley households reporting an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $75,000-and-above account for a massive 84 percent of all AGI reported. Three of the New York State counties with the highest income inequality are in the region: Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam.

“This situation in the valley is really a reflection of what is happening nationally,” noted Christy Huebner Caridi, Director of the Bureau and Assistant Professor of Economics at Marist. “The growing discrepancy in the distribution of wage and salary income has greatly impacted the ability of households in the below-$75,000 category to save.”

Other key findings include:

          –  Income inequality is evident across all income categories, including but not limited to wages and salaries,
              taxable interest, dividends and capital gains.

          –  Statewide, the $75,000-and-above category earned $8.89 in AGI in for every one dollar reported in the
              below-$75,000 category.

          –  New York State counties with the greatest wage and salary inequality — ranked from one through five — are
              New York, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and Rockland. The counties that have the most equal distribution
              of wage and salary income are Hamilton, Wyoming, Yates, Lewis, and Orleans.

          –  Region-wide, households in the $75,000-and-above category reported average taxable interest income
              almost five times greater than households in the below-$75,000 category; average ordinary and qualified
              dividend income was nearly six times as great, while net capital gains income was almost 19 times as great.

This report supports the findings of the Bureau’s recent report on unemployment in the Hudson Valley, which was released in November 2018.

About the Marist Bureau of Economic Research

Housed within the Marist School of Management, the Bureau of Economic Research typically releases five reports each year regarding different aspects of the Hudson Valley economy, including household income, income tax analysis, commutation patterns of workers, migration, and overall employment and wages. The Bureau also conducts economic impact studies, as well as forecasting and policy analysis.