Income

Where California outshines other states, and by how much.

• By Gregory Orfalea

Pernicious myths about income inequality remain pervasive in our society—for example, that better education will close the racial wealth gap. Professor William Darity is working to debunk these misconceptions.

• By Dwyer Gunn

Quality of medical care and mortality are frequently linked to socioeconomic success. But for African Americans, that's often not the case.

• By Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez

Ending this problem should be simple.

• By Lisa Wade

For the first time ever, the public can see the graduation rates for Pell grant recipients at over 1,000 schools.

• By Annie Waldman

Workers keep losing ground.

• By Martin Hart-Landsberg

The latest entry in a special project in which business and labor leaders, social scientists, technology visionaries, activists, and journalists weigh in on the most consequential changes in the workplace.

• By Harold Meyerson

A study of young married Americans finds people who are economically dependent on their spouse are more likely to have an affair.

• By Tom Jacobs

New research finds that, in most societies, cynics make less money over time than optimists.

• By Tom Jacobs

Support for greater flexible savings will provide a stable and desperately needed foundation.

• By Reid Cramer

A new study predicts growing income and increasing temperatures will boost air conditioner sales and energy consumption.

• By Nathan Collins

A state-by-state analysis of Google searches find high-status goods are of more interest in places with a larger gap between rich and poor.

• By Tom Jacobs

A new report highlights Asian Americans' economic success. What does this tell us about the "tiger mom" style of parenting?

• By Gregory Ferenstein

Millions have been spent on initiatives to eliminate food deserts, which are thought to contribute to the increasing incidence of diabetes and obesity in low-income areas. How are disadvantaged people faring in the middle of California, one of the nation's prime agricultural states?

• By Maria Bustillos

California is the home to more super rich than anywhere else in the country—and it also exhibits the highest poverty rate in the nation.

• By Manuel Pastor & Dan Braun

The majority of Americans—both liberal and conservative—want taxes to be progressive, but they're actually quite regressive.

• By Martin Hart-Landsberg

Consider wealth instead.

• By Jane Van Galen

The short answer is, pretty well. But that’s not really the point.

• By Philip N. Cohen

In a truly global market, the price of real estate doesn't necessarily reflect the ability of those living in the area to afford it.

• By Jim Russell

The borough has experienced a drop in average per capita income, but there's a good reason for that.

• By Jim Russell

Another example of how population growth is outdated as an important economic metric.

• By Jim Russell

When it comes to the injustice of air pollution, the divide between blacks and whites is greater than the gap between the rich and the poor.

• By John Upton

An animation using Census data makes clear how family income has changed in America's Second City over 40-plus years.

• By Lisa Wade

Just as you suspected, there’s a reason inequality is structural and self-perpetuating. But you might be shocked by just how few of the most well-off individuals are able to out-earn the generation before them. It isn’t the one percent we should be focusing on, but the 0.1 percent.

• By Kyle Chayka