HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A recent U.S. Census survey reveals that Connecticut has one of the highest median household incomes in the country but wealth in the state remains heavily skewed.
The Hartford Courant reports that data shows that Connecticut ranked 5th in the U.S. for median income. Connecticut Data Collaborative executive director Michelle Riordan-Nold says the state's median income rose about 6 percent from the 2008-2012 period to the 2013-2017 period.
According to the data, nine of the 10 towns with the state's highest household incomes between 2013 and 2017 were in Fairfield County. The cities of New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport were all in the lower range. Weston was tops with an income of nearly $220,000 while Hartford came in last at about $34,000. Other Fairfield County towns in Connecticut’s top 10 were Darien, Easton, Greenwich, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Westport and Wilton.
Danbury was 33rd from the bottom with an average income of $68,000. Among the most significant increases were in Southbury, where the median household income jumped more than one-third, to about $90,000.
Economist Don Klepper-Smith says the survey shows that "rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer."
