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Income Disparity |
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Income Disparity 1990-2000 |
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Ratio of Low to High Income 1990-2000 |
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INDICATOR |
Percent of Santa Monica Households Earning under $25K and over $100K Annually |
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STATUS |
Good |
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TREND |
Improving |
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DESCRIPTION |
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Income disparity is an important indicator of the economic strength of the community. This indicator compares the percent of the population earning more than $100,000, or the wealthy population, to the percentage earning less than $25,000, or the low income population. The presumption is that equal numbers of rich and poor living in a community foster an economic and social equilibrium. Such would theoretically be the case if this ratio is "1.0", a state of income parity. Large income disparity, however, can cause "inequalities in access to
city and social service, resources and power, as well as poverty and poverty-related problems. It also threatens the long-term stability of the economy,” according to
CEROI
(Cities Environment Report on the Internet).
Until a permanent target can be set, the interim target for this indicator is 1.0. |
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PERFORMANCE SUMMARY |
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The number of households earning less than
$25,000 per year is declining. The number of
households earning more than $100,000 per year
is on the rise. This is probably an indication
of gentrification in the community. In 1990, 34%
of households earned less than $25,000 and 12%
of households earned more than $100,000. In
2000, 25% of households earned less than $25,000
while the percentage of Santa Monica households
earning more than $100,000 had almost doubled to
nearly 24%. In 1990, 46% of households were
reflected in the highest and lowest income
brackets. In 2000, close to 50% of all
households fell into these categories. This
reflects a shrinking of the middle class. |
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ANALYSIS |
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Income disparity in the city is a geographic as well as economic issue. The current housing stock may not meet the housing needs of those residents earning less than $100,000. In addition, the jobs paying more than $100,000 may not be located in the
city. Therefore those people working in the city of Santa may be commuting from other communities and those living in Santa Monica may be commuting to other areas for work. This leads to an increase in the job/ housing balance, increased vehicle miles traveled, and increased congestion.
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SUPPORTING MATERIALS |
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In looking at the indicator for income disparity, it is important to consider poverty. The 2000 Census Report finds that the percent of residents living below the poverty level in Santa Monica is 10.4%. This is compared with 12.4% nationally, 14.2% in California and 22.1% in Los Angeles.
The percent of the families in Santa Monica live below the poverty line is 5.4%. This is compared to 9.2% nationally, 10.6% in California and 18.3% in Los Angeles.
Finally, of those 65 years and older, 10.2% live below the poverty level in Santa Monica, compared with 8.1% in California and 12.6% in Los Angeles.
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DATA SOURCES |
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View source material in Excel:
E6_IncomeDisparity.xls.
Email contact for data source inquires. |
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PRINTING TIPS
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Printing tips for MS Internet Explorer |
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LAST UPDATED
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August 2005 |
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CITATION |
www.smepd.org/scpr |
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