The Pew Charitable Trusts has released a report outlining a handful of counties in America with no black-white income gap. One of those places is Fayette County.
The income gap between black and white households has grown since 2000 and only worsened since the recession, Pew said in the Nov. 10 report.
“Yet, a tiny number of places exist where black household income is greater than that of whites. Of the 364 large U.S. counties whose populations are at least 5 percent black, there are seven, according to a “Stateline” analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data for 2010-14,” Pew said in the report.
One of the seven is Fayette County. Black households in Fayette made $83,396 compared to white household incomes of $80,500, according to census data.
Pew in the report noted that Fayette County is reflective of the few counties where there is income parity. It is a draw for black managers at large corporations and government agencies based in Atlanta.
“African-Americans here generally commute into Atlanta for those corporate jobs at companies like Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola and UPS. These companies place a high value on diversity,” said Fayette County Commission Charles Rousseau who was quoted in the report.
Pew in the report said a reputation for good schools and quiet neighborhoods of homes on 2-acre lots has made Fayette County a magnet for affluent Atlanta workers of all races. But current home prices ranging up to $560,000 also make the area relatively exclusive.
“You have to be of greater means to move to Fayette County because of the housing market there,” said Atlanta Regional Commission Senior Planner Jim Skinner who studies demographic trends. “That’s not an answer to the societal problem of economic inequality — rather it helps explain why it exists in the first place.”
The remaining six counties in the study included: Stafford County, Va., in the Washington, D.C. area; Kendall County, Ill., in the Chicago area; Fairfield County, Ohio, in the Columbus area; Hardin County, Kentucky, in the Louisvillle area; and Clayton County, Ga.
