Income Distribution

Income Distributed More Equally in the Sierra Nevada than in California

Why is it important?

Income distribution measures how income is divided among families in a region. One economic gauge is the Gini coefficient, which ranges from 0.20 when income is evenly distributed, to 0.60 when it is divided inequitably. Income is more unequally distributed in the United States than in Japan and Europe and has become even more so since the 1980s. Severe inequality makes it difficult for communities to resolve conflicts and make progress.

How are we doing?

Income is distributed more equally in the Sierra Nevada than in California, but less equally than in the United States, which has a Gini coefficient of 0.40. Inequality is highest in the Eastern Sierra, followed by North Central, South Central and the North.

But inequality tells only part of the story. The other ingredient is the income level of the richest five percent of families. The median income of the richest five percent of families is highest in North Central at $192,000. In the East, which has greater inequality, the richest five percent receive an average of $9,000 less. This means that income is more equal in North Central because it has more wealthy families, not because it has lower incomes.

You can see the importance of looking at both distribution and level by comparing North Central and South Central. Even though they have very similar income distributions, families in South Central are worse off because the richest five percent earn $18,000 less than in North Central. In the North, income is more evenly distributed because the level earned by the richest five percent is $54,000 less than in North Central.

Download data and Charts as of 2000             Download data and Charts for 2004