Virginia's median income gap widens

The statewide median for adjusted gross income on married couples' tax returns was $50,849 in 1998, the most recent year for which figures are available, according to a study by economists John L. Knapp and Stephen C. Kulp at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.

However, median incomes varied widely across the state. And the gap between low and high incomes has widened, said the economists in the annual report, "Virginia Adjusted Gross Income."

In Fairfax County the median income was $77,173, while in Lee County the median income was $25,856. Educational disparities and a booming stock market have been among the factors widening the gap.

From 1993 to 1998, the Charlottesville area had the largest gain in income, with close to a 56 percent increase in the median, up to $59,748.

For information, see http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/releases2001/agi-jan-5-2001.html.