PolicyLink and PERE
41
An Equity Profile of Orange County
-26%
-21%
-10%
11%
24%
-12%
-10%
-7%
7%
19%
10th Percentile 20th Percentile 50th Percentile 80th Percentile 90th Percentile
Declining wages for low-wage workers
A widening gap in wages is one of the drivers
of rising income inequality. After adjusting for
inflation, wage growth for top earners in
Orange County increased by 24 percent
between 1979 and 2016. During the same
period, wages for the lowest earners fell by 26
percent. Wages for lower-wage workers fell at
a greater rate in Orange County than at the
national level.
Wages grew only for higher-wage workers and fell for middle- and low-wage workers
Economic vitality
28. Real Earned Income Growth for Full-Time Wage and Salary Workers, 1979 to 2016
Source: Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Universe includes civilian noninstitutional full-time wage and salary workers ages 25 through 64.
Note: Data for 2016 represent a 2012 through 2016 average.
