Suitability of a County-Level Income Definition for Analysis of Lower-Income Communities

Isabella Agnes, Ellie Dries, Jessica Liu, Zofsha Merchant, Fatimah Shaalan, Michelle Tran, Anna Tranfaglia, Erin Troland () and Douglas Webber
Additional contact information
Jessica Liu: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/jessica-c-liu.htm
Anna Tranfaglia: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/anna-e-tranfaglia.htm
Erin Troland: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/erin-troland.htm

No 2025-039, Finance and Economics Discussion Series from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)

Abstract: This paper examines the costs and benefits of using a straightforward county-level income definition in the classification and study of lower-income communities. A definition based on population-weighted distribution of county-level median household incomes does a good job of identifying the most economically disadvantaged communities across a wide range of indicators. We show robustness to the use of different thresholds, levels of geography, and cost-of-living adjustments.

Keywords: Geographic inequality; Household financial well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G50 R00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 p.
Date: 2025-06-02
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2025-39

DOI: 10.17016/FEDS.2025.039

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