Scranton: The Rich are Getting Richer; the Poor are Getting Poorer (Philadelphia: middle-class, transplants)

[SteelCityRising]

Well I just recently saw that the U.S. Census Bureau released new economic data for 2007, and what was disturbing is that the class divide between those who are affluent and those are are impoverished continues to grow in the Electric City. Since 2006, the percentage of individuals in Scranton living in poverty has soared from 17.2% in 2006 to 20.3% (or more than 1 in every 5) in 2007. Meanwhile the median household income in the city also surged to $35,171, up 13% from $31,090 in 2006.

Here are a few more points:

• Of the 16,000 residents under 18 in Scranton, almost one-third---5,222---lived in poverty. A black child was about three times more likely than a white child to live in poverty.
• Among the seven largest Pennsylvania cities, Scranton had the third-lowest poverty rate — only Bethlehem (12.4 percent) and Allentown (18.9) recorded lower scores. Reading had the highest rate at 34.5 percent. Other cities included in the survey were Philadelphia (23.8), Pittsburgh (21) and Erie (24.6).
• Of the more than 36,000 people over age 65 in Lackawanna County, 4,216 were living in poverty — a rate of 11.6 percent that ranked third-highest in the state. The rate was 8.2 percent in Luzerne County and 4.6 percent in Monroe County. In Scranton, 16.6 percent of seniors lived in poverty.

In Monroe County, the median household income of $56,860 was amongst the highest in the state after the affluent Philadelphia suburbs and well above the state median of $48,576. The national median household income was $50,233, indicating that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre remains a very impoverished area.

[SteelCityRising]

I should have also added that in 2006 28.5% of all households in Scranton earned at least $50,000 annually. In 2007 that surged to 31.9%, indicating that while 1/5 of the city is living in poverty, nearly 1/3 is upper-middle-class or affluent. The middle-class in the city continues to shrink.

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I should have also added that in 2006 28.5% of all households in Scranton earned at least $50,000 annually. In 2007 that surged to 31.9%, indicating that while 1/5 of the city is living in poverty, nearly 1/3 is upper-middle-class or affluent. The middle-class in the city continues to shrink.

Paul, it seems the middle-class continues to shrink all over the country. The economy and prices going up doesn't effect the rich and the poor doesn't have much anyway to lose. The middle class it seems are always the ones being taken for a ride, here in Scranton, and the rest of the country.

[weluvpa]

My pride is restored mayor Doherty.

[thecoalman]

Those numbers don't surprise me, young educated people are moving out and in the meantime poor transplants from the city are moving in to places all over NEPA in cities and boroughs.

The primary cause of this as I mentioned in another thread is the type of housing. Small "company" houses owned by senior citizens. Once they pass on or move out the kids don't want them and certainly no middle income family is going to move into them. They end up getting sold to landlords and the neighborhoods deteriorate rapidly. As these neighborhoods die it seeps into more affluent ones....

[The Commish]

Well, as a percentage of the total income-earning population, we have a lot more older people in this area who live on fixed incomes. They skew the statistics downward. I'm sure our median income number is a little higher if you control for those people statewide.

[whorunbartertown]

Frankly the middle class is all but gone in the US. It's more like upper-middle, lower middle at this juncture....no wonder everyone is in a survival mode.....

[whorunbartertown]

Interestingly enough, when I first moved here, Schuylkill County was ranked 8th in the nation in disposable income. Meaning that people had money left over from everything else, to spend as the wished....

[Bryana Beyar]

If you take a look back at 2003, there's a marked decline in the number of people buying crayola products in scranton, that's the same year that three ufo's were sighted over the Myrtle Street United Methodist Church on Harrison Ave... O_o

[Huckleberry3911948]

i understand the rich self serving behavior. what i do not understand is the lower middle class hatred of unions. unions brought us affluence, and their absence will remove it. how many daily CDF posts demanding action from government HR and EEOC for what are clearly valid grievances all meeting with a deaf ear.