How are the bottom 10% of Long Island faring?

Using the most recent available Census numbers from IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series), we looked to see if the past decade of economic growth has affected Long Island’s poorest.

Adjusted for inflation, in 2018 dollars, we found that Long Island’s bottom 10% has actually seen a 2% wage decline since 2005.

This made us pause – perhaps it’s an unfair comparison to look at pre-recession wages to post-recession wages. The economic growth started in 2009, what does it look like if we use 2009 as our baseline?

When we index it to 2009 and adjust for inflation, we find that the bottom 10% of Long Island has seen an 8% decline in wages.

This means that despite consistent economic growth in the past decade, we have been leaving our most vulnerable population behind

Come back next week, and we’ll explore the top 10% of Long Island