Employment and Poverty Among the Homeless - The Distribution Of Wealth

While most discussions of poverty focus simply on people who are below the poverty line versus those who are above it, it is important to keep in mind that even among the poor, some people have fewer resources than others. An analysis of changes in the distribution of wealth helps to explain why homelessness and poverty can remain level, even when the economy performs well.

During the 1980s and 1990s the poverty rate declined for the most part. In the first years of each of these decades the number of people in poverty rose but during the rest of the twenty-year period the numbers of people in poverty declined. (See Figure 3.2.) However, the patterns seen in the distribution of wealth underwent a change. Table 3.6 breaks the U.S. population down into five groups based on income, ranging from the fifth of the population with the lowest incomes to the fifth with the highest incomes. It then displays the percent of total income earned by each fifth of the population in a particular year, as well as the amount earned by those in the top 5% of all Americans (the highest fifth of the highest fifth).

From 1991 to 2001, the highest fifth or quintile of the population increased its income 7.9%, bringing its share of total income from 44.2% to 47.7%. (See Table 3.6.) In each of the other, lower income quintiles the share of aggregate income received declined over the same time period, 1991—2001. The lowest fifth went from 4.5% of all income in 1991 down to 4.2% in 2001. The top 5% of Americans saw their percentage of aggregate income rise 23% during the 1990s, increasing their share from 17.1% to 21% of the nation's income.

As the U.S. economy went through a period of historic growth during the 1990s, every fifth of the population also saw its income rise. (See Figure 3.7.) The richest fifth of the population, however, gained the largest share of the new wealth and increased their overall share of aggregate income while each of the other fifths lost some of its share of the aggregate income. Although it is not accurate to say that the poor got poorer, since their incomes grew, it is true that they became poorer relative to the rich. The 1990s resulted in increased disparity between the rich and the poor.

TABLE 3.6
Share of aggregate income received by each fifth and top five percent of families, 1947-2001
[Percent]
SOURCE: "Table F-2. Share of Aggregate Income Received by Each Fifth and Top 5 Percent of Families, 1947-2001," in Historical Income Tables—Families, U.S. Census Bureau, September 2002, http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/f02.html (accessed February 21, 2005)

	Lowest fifth	Second fifth	Middle fifth	Fourth fifth	Highest fifth	Top 5 percent
1947	5.0	11.9	17.0	23.1	43.0	17.5
1948	4.9	12.1	17.3	23.2	42.4	17.1
1949	4.5	11.9	17.3	23.5	42.7	16.9
1950	4.5	12.0	17.4	23.4	42.7	17.3
1951	5.0	12.4	17.6	23.4	41.6	16.8
1952	4.9	12.3	17.4	23.4	41.9	17.4
1953	4.7	12.5	18.0	23.9	40.9	15.7
1954	4.5	12.1	17.7	23.9	41.8	16.3
1955	4.8	12.3	17.8	23.7	41.3	16.4
1956	5.0	12.5	17.9	23.7	41.0	16.1
1957	5.1	12.7	18.1	23.8	40.4	15.6
1958	5.0	12.5	18.0	23.9	40.6	15.4
1959	4.9	12.3	17.9	23.8	41.1	15.9
1960	4.8	12.2	17.8	24.0	41.3	15.9
1961	4.7	11.9	17.5	23.8	42.2	16.6
1962	5.0	12.1	17.6	24.0	41.3	15.7
1963	5.0	12.1	17.7	24.0	41.2	15.8
1964	5.1	12.0	17.7	24.0	41.2	15.9
1965	5.2	12.2	17.8	23.9	40.9	15.5
1966	5.6	12.4	17.8	23.8	40.5	15.6
1967	5.4	12.2	17.5	23.5	41.4	16.4
1968	5.6	12.4	17.7	23.7	40.5	15.6
1969	5.6	12.4	17.7	23.7	40.6	15.6
1970	5.4	12.2	17.6	23.8	40.9	15.6
1971	5.5	12.0	17.6	23.8	41.1	15.7
1972	5.5	11.9	17.5	23.9	41.4	15.9
1973	5.5	11.9	17.5	24.0	41.1	15.5
1974	5.7	12.0	17.6	24.1	40.6	14.8
1975	5.6	11.9	17.7	24.2	40.7	14.9
1976	5.6	11.9	17.7	24.2	40.7	14.9
1977	5.5	11.7	17.6	24.3	40.9	14.9
1978	5.4	11.7	17.6	24.2	41.1	15.1
1979	5.4	11.6	17.5	24.1	41.4	15.3
1980	5.3	11.6	17.6	24.4	41.1	14.6
1981	5.3	11.4	17.5	24.6	41.2	14.4
1982	5.0	11.3	17.2	24.4	42.2	15.3
1983	4.9	11.2	17.2	24.5	42.4	15.3
1984	4.8	11.1	17.1	24.5	42.5	15.4
1985	4.8	11.0	16.9	24.3	43.1	16.1
1986	4.7	10.9	16.9	24.1	43.4	16.5
1987	4.6	10.7	16.8	24.0	43.8	17.2
1988	4.6	10.7	16.7	24.0	44.0	17.2
1989	4.6	10.6	16.5	23.7	44.6	17.9
1990	4.6	10.8	16.6	23.8	44.3	17.4
1991	4.5	10.7	16.6	24.1	44.2	17.1
1992	4.3	10.5	16.5	24.0	44.7	17.6
1993	4.1	9.9	15.7	23.3	47.0	20.3
1994	4.2	10.0	15.7	23.3	46.9	20.1
1995	4.4	10.1	15.8	23.2	46.5	20.0
1996	4.2	10.0	15.8	23.1	46.8	20.3
1997	4.2	9.9	15.7	23.0	47.2	20.7
1998	4.2	9.9	15.7	23.0	47.3	20.7
1999	4.3	9.9	15.6	23.0	47.2	20.3
2000	4.3	9.8	15.4	22.7	47.7	21.1
2001	4.2	9.7	15.4	22.9	47.7	21.0