The District’s rich are getting richer while the less fortunate continue to struggle, as new data shows the income gap in the city is rising.
In addition, the bustling success of the city’s development and population boom is reserved for only a handful of select areas, according to a report on city neighborhoods by the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership.
Over the past year, the gap between the city’s highest median household income (in Georgetown) and the lowest incomes (in Bellevue) grew by 36 percent to $125,837. During that period of time, Georgetown household income increased by 29 percent to $155,532. Bellevue household incomes grew by 6 percent to $29,695.
| Richest and poorest neighborhoods | ||
| Neighborhood | 2012 HH income | 1-yr change |
| District | $60,903 | 2.7% |
| 1. Georgetown | $155,532 | 28.8% |
| 2. Chevy Chase/ | ||
| Friendship Heights | $115,250 | 12.2% |
| 3. Glover Park | $106,290 | 32.3% |
| 4. Cleveland Park | $94,385 | 21.3% |
| 5. Dupont Circle | $86,671 | 31.5% |
| —————————————— | ||
| 33. Anacostia | $36,246 | -5.1% |
| 34. Chinatown | $34,176 | -22.8% |
| 35. Downtown DC | $34,176 | -22.8 |
| 36. Mt. Vernon Triangle | $31,936 | -18.4% |
| 37. Bellevue/South Capitol | $29,695 | 5.6% |
| Source: WDCEP Neighborhood profiles, data based on one-year projections of median household income | ||
Incomes are based on income projections for households within a half-mile radius of the neighborhood center. The gap is part of a growing trend as U.S. Census Bureau data in 2009 showed the gap was roughly $71,000, a 45 percent growth from 2004.
“In a recession the poor get poorer and the rich get richer,” said Richard Clinch, a University of Baltimore economist.
He said income gaps tend to widen during and after recessions because companies start handing out raises again but don’t resume hiring. But the District’s rising gap is also indicative of its appeal to the well-heeled.
“It’s a measure of D.C.’s success, it’s not necessarily something bad here,” Clinch said. “Unlike many cities, D.C. is experiencing a surge in upper-income households.”
In addition, many of the areas that had a strong increase in annual household income showed a falloff in households. Barracks Row household incomes rose by nearly 29 percent but the number of households fell by 7 percent. At the Southwest Waterfront, which is being targeted for massive redevelopment, median household income rose by nearly one-third while the number of households fell by more than one-third.
That’s likely because those neighborhoods are becoming unaffordable to longtime residents, said Daraius Irani, a Towson University economist.
“Those who are fairly well-to-do are staying in the city and those who can’t are being squeezed out,” he said.
