Mar 4, 2024 - News

Cleveland's income inequality gap is ninth in nation

Sam Allard

Illustration of a woman on a small stack of money next to a woman on a much larger stack of money — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Households in Cleveland that bring in more than $115,915 in annual salary are in the top quintile (top 20%) of local earners.

Why it matters: That's 5.5 times more than the bottom quintile — households earning less than $21,102 per year — giving Cleveland one of the largest income inequality gaps in the county, according to a new report.

By the numbers: Cleveland ranked ninth nationally on the list published by financial technology firm Smart Asset, first reported locally by Crain's.

New Orleans was first in the nation, followed by Boston, Newark, Jersey City, Atlanta, New York City, Memphis and Detroit.

Zoom in: Cleveland was the highest ranked Ohio city, though Cincinnati was 12th.

The fine print: 98 cities were surveyed, with data from the University of Wisconsin's County Health Rankings & Roadmaps.

Go deeper: Cleveland's wealth gap is even more pronounced when disaggregated by race.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland has suggested that to close the racial wealth gap, policymakers should work to close the racial income gap.

Add Axios on Google

Cleveland's income inequality gap is ninth in nation

More Cleveland stories