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Research Article
Open Access

Stalled Progress? Five Decades of Black-White and Rural-Urban Income Gaps

Bradley L. Hardy, Shria Holla, Elizabeth S. Krause, James P. Ziliak
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences January 2025, 11 (2) 115-136; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2025.11.2.06
Bradley L. Hardy
aProfessor of public policy at Georgetown University, United States
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Shria Holla
bEconomist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, United States
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Elizabeth S. Krause
cDoctoral student in the economics department at the University of Kentucky, United States
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James P. Ziliak
dProfessor and Carol Martin Gatton Endowed Chair in the economics department at the University of Kentucky, United States
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Article Figures & Data

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  • Figure 1.
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    Figure 1.

    Share of Households Without Labor-Market Earnings

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

  • Figure 2.
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    Figure 2.

    Share of Households Receiving Social Insurance, Means-Tested Transfers, or Refundable Tax Credits

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Social insurance, transfers and tax credits include Disability Insurance, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Veteran’s Payments, Workers Compensation, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, General Assistance, Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child Tax Credit (refundable portion).

  • Figure 3.
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    Figure 3.

    Black-White Disposable Income and Earnings Level Gaps by Percentile

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Disposable income is the sum of earnings and nonlabor income less federal, state, and payroll tax payments (inclusive of refundable tax credits). Sample is restricted to households with positive disposable income, earnings, and earnings plus nonlabor incomes. Earnings and incomes are in real thousands of dollars using the 2021 PCE and equivalized using the modified OECD scale.

  • Figure 4.
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    Figure 4.

    Black-White Disposable Income and Earnings Rank Gaps by Percentile

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Disposable income is the sum of earnings and nonlabor income less federal, state, and payroll tax payments (inclusive of refundable tax credits). Sample is restricted to households with positive disposable income, earnings, and earnings plus nonlabor incomes. Earnings and incomes are in real thousands of dollars using the 2021 PCE and equivalized using the modified OECD scale. See text for details.

  • Figure 5.
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    Figure 5.

    Rural-Urban Disposable Income and Earnings Level Gaps by Percentile

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Disposable income is the sum of earnings and nonlabor income less federal, state, and payroll tax payments (inclusive of refundable tax credits). Sample is restricted to households with positive disposable income, earnings, and earnings plus nonlabor incomes. Earnings and incomes are in real thousands of dollars using the 2021 PCE and equivalized using the modified OECD scale. See text for details.

  • Figure 6.
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    Figure 6.

    Rural-Urban Disposable Income and Earnings Rank Gaps by Percentile

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Disposable income is the sum of earnings and nonlabor income less federal, state, and payroll tax payments (inclusive of refundable tax credits). Sample is restricted to households with positive disposable income, earnings, and earnings plus nonlabor incomes. Earnings and incomes are in real thousands of dollars using the 2021 PCE and equivalized using the modified OECD scale.

  • Figure 7.
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    Figure 7.

    Black-White Level and Rank Gaps under Median Selection Rule

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Disposable income is the sum of earnings and nonlabor income less federal, state, and payroll tax payments (inclusive of refundable tax credits). Sample is restricted to households with positive disposable income, earnings, and earnings plus nonlabor incomes. Earnings and incomes are in real thousands of dollars using the 2021 PCE and equivalized using the modified OECD scale. See text for details.

  • Figure 8.
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    Figure 8.

    Rural-Urban Level and Rank Gaps under Median Selection Rule

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Disposable income is the sum of earnings and nonlabor income less federal, state, and payroll tax payments (inclusive of refundable tax credits). Sample is restricted to households with positive disposable income, earnings, and earnings plus nonlabor incomes. Earnings and incomes are in real thousands of dollars using the 2021 PCE and equivalized using the modified OECD scale.

  • Figure 9.
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    Figure 9.

    Interacted Disposable Income Level and Rank Gaps by Percentile Under Median Selection Rule

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Disposable income is the sum of earnings and nonlabor income less federal, state, and payroll tax payments (inclusive of refundable tax credits). Sample is restricted to households with positive disposable income, earnings, and earnings plus nonlabor incomes. Earnings and incomes are in real thousands of dollars using the 2021 PCE and equivalized using the modified OECD scale.

  • Figure 10.
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    Figure 10.

    Black-White Level and Rank Disposable Income Gaps by Hispanic Ethnicity

    Source: Authors’ calculations from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Census Bureau 2024).

    Note: Disposable income is the sum of earnings and nonlabor income less federal, state, and payroll tax payments (inclusive of refundable tax credits). Sample is restricted to households with positive disposable income, earnings, and earnings plus nonlabor incomes. Earnings and incomes are in real thousands of dollars using the 2021 PCE and equivalized using the modified OECD scale.

Additional Files

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    Appendix

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    • Adobe PDF - Hardy_online_Appendix_6-24-24.pdf - Appendix
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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 11 (2)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 11, Issue 2
1 Jan 2025
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Stalled Progress? Five Decades of Black-White and Rural-Urban Income Gaps
Bradley L. Hardy, Shria Holla, Elizabeth S. Krause, James P. Ziliak
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Jan 2025, 11 (2) 115-136; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2025.11.2.06

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Stalled Progress? Five Decades of Black-White and Rural-Urban Income Gaps
Bradley L. Hardy, Shria Holla, Elizabeth S. Krause, James P. Ziliak
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Jan 2025, 11 (2) 115-136; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2025.11.2.06
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