It’s also one of the most diverse counties in the nation. These include 7759 in Fort Bend County, which as a whole has the low, low distress score of 2.3 and is one of Texas’ largest suburban counties. Sprawling Sun Belt cities like Houston and Phoenix, the report points out, experienced a lot of economic prosperity in the first two decades of the 21st century, but the benefits “were channeled outwards and did little to lift many chronically distressed urban neighborhoods.” Suburban ZIP codes form a ring of prosperity around the distressed core of Houston. The seven metrics used to calculate a community’s score on the index were no high school diploma, housing vacancy rate, adults not working, poverty rate, median income ratio, change in employment and change in business establishments. Based on the score, communities were placed into one of five tiers of economic well-being: prosperous, comfortable, mid-tier, at risk and distressed. “Unless policymakers in both parties reframe their priorities, economically distressed communities will continue to experience a downward spiral that results in a loss of faith in the American dream and less healthy and fulfilling lives.”Ĭommunities are defined at the ZIP code level and scores range from 0 (most prosperous) to 100 (most distressed). “Economic inequality in America translates into opportunity gaps for too many communities,” said Steve Glickman, cofounder and executive director of the Economic Innovation Group, when the inaugural index was released. To examine how economic well-being is spread across communities and regions in the U.S., the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) has released its Distressed Communities Index (DCI) each year since 2016. They also face stagnant or negative economic growth, which means little to no change in the prospects of those who live there. But what exactly does that mean?ĭistressed communities are characterized by widespread poverty, high rates of unemployment and low levels of educational attainment. And like the disease itself, the COVID-19 economic downturn has splintered the lives of those who are the least resilient - both physically and economically - while those whose jobs allow them to work from home have remained largely insulated from the virus and financial troubles.Īpproximately 50.5 million Americans live in a distressed community. Meanwhile, many less fortunate Americans were still struggling to recover when the pandemic hit, bringing with it an even greater recession and hardship. The large and widening divide between “prosperous” and “distressed” communities since the turn of the century was seen clearly in the quick economic recovery experienced by those with higher-paying jobs and better educations following the Great Recession. If you weren’t familiar with the lengthy list of disparities that exist in America, you’ve likely been brought up to speed by the pandemic, which has provided a frightening crash course in the nation’s inequalities.