America’s Shrinking Middle Class: A Close Look at Changes Within Metropolitan Areas
The American middle class is losing ground in metropolitan areas across the country, affecting communities from Boston to Seattle and from Dallas to Milwaukee.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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3. The middle class shrank and incomes fell in most metropolitan areas from 2000 to 2014
The economic status of a metropolitan area in 2014 does not necessarily signal the direction of its journey. Midland, TX, led the nation in the share of the population that was upper income in 2014 because it benefited from a boom in global oil prices. But the sharp decline in oil prices since 2014 may […]
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1. The American middle class loses ground nationally
The share of the American adult population that lives in middle-income households has fallen since 2000. The trend this century is the continuation of a long-running decline. An earlier analysis by the Pew Research Center, which looked at the period from 1971 to 2015, demonstrated that the middle class in the U.S. has been shrinking […]
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2. The relative size of income tiers and their financial status varied greatly across U.S. metropolitan areas in 2014
The share of adults who lived in lower-, middle- or upper-income households varied markedly across U.S. metropolitan areas in 2014. While 51% of American adults overall were in the middle-income tier in 2014, the share was as low as 42% in Monroe, LA, and as high as 67% in Wausau, WI. Differences in the shares […]
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Appendix A: References
Burkhauser, Richard V., Amy Crews Cutts, Mary C. Daly and Stephen P. Jenkins. 1999. “Testing the Significance of Income Distribution Changes Over the 1980s Business Cycle: A Cross-National Comparison.” Journal of Applied Econometrics, Vol. 14, No. 3. Cingano, Federico. 2014. “Trends in Income Inequality and its Impact on Economic Growth.” Paris, France: Organization for Economic […]
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The American middle class: Who is in it, and who is not, in U.S. Metropolitan Areas
Major U.S. metro areas mapped by low, middle and upper income tiers. Data is from 2014.
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The Future of Free Speech, Trolls, Anonymity and Fake News Online
Many experts fear uncivil and manipulative behaviors on the internet will persist – and may get worse.
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1. Religious affiliation
Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Central and Eastern Europe, and the majority religion in 10 of the 18 countries surveyed. Overall, nearly six-in-ten people in the region (57%) identify with this Christian tradition. Moldova and Greece have the highest Orthodox proportions in their populations, while Russia and Ukraine – the two largest countries surveyed […]
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5. From plastic surgery to vasectomies: Public opinion on current human enhancement options
While some types of potential human enhancements may seem like science fiction to observers not immersed in the world of biotechnology, there are any number of enhancements already available to the general public today. From laser eye surgery to teeth whitening, modern human enhancements are widely known today. The theme of “everyday enhancements” arose first […]
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5. From plastic surgery to vasectomies: Public opinion on current human enhancement options
While some types of potential human enhancements may seem like science fiction to observers not immersed in the world of biotechnology, there are any number of enhancements already available to the general public today. From laser eye surgery to teeth whitening, modern human enhancements are widely known today. The theme of “everyday enhancements” arose first […]