WASHINGTON — Any doubt about New York being a city of haves and have-nots goes out the window in a major Census Bureau survey released Thursday.
No other major American city has such income inequality when it comes to rich and poor as New York, according to the data, released Thursday.The annual American Community Survey, a treasure trove used by governments, retailers and planners, is packed with numbers on everything from the jobs we have to the transportation we take to work.
But one bottom line supports the campaign refrain of Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio, who says New York is “a tale of two cities.”
Of the 30 most populous American cities, New York is tops in the inequality between the rich and poor.
Of major cities, New Orleans and Miami come close but don’t surpass New York, according to Adam Bee, an economist in the income statistics branch of the bureau.
Poverty persists in New York.
In 2007, before the recession hit, 18.5% of the residents of the city’s five boroughs lived below the poverty level.
By 2012, 21.2% were living below the poverty line, defined as total annual income of $23,283 for a family of four.
When the surrounding suburbs are included, 14.8% live below the poverty line.
But there also is good news in the new numbers.
More New Yorkers have health insurance, an increase largely explained by more baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare.
In the metro area, 12.8% lacked insurance last year, a drop from 13.2% in 2011.
Other data is very eclectic.
For example, there were 4,275 females between the ages of 15 and 19 in the five boroughs who gave birth last year. Of those, 91% were unmarried.
There were 972,920 people employed in education, health care and social services in the city — and just 5,320 employed in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting.
The median household income in the entire metro area was $63,982 in 2012, nearly the same as 2011. Median household income in the U.S. was $53,607.
In 2012, the median value for an owner-occupied home in the metro area was $400,000, a decline from $410,300 in 2011. Across all metro areas, that figure was $188,300. The median gross rent (rent plus utilities) was $1,209.
And last year, 36.4% of the city’s residents were foreign-born. In the metro area, 29.3% were born outside the U.S., a slight increase. Nationally, it’s 14.8% in metro areas.
