(Bloomberg) — There are several ways to measure the growing U.S. wealth gap, but almost any way you look at it, the rich are getting richer.
Of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas, the Bridgeport, Conn., metro, which includes nearby Stamford and Norwalk, has the largest gap between rich and poor, according to an analysis by Bloomberg.
Bloomberg ranked cities on the difference between the top 20 percent of wage earners and the bottom 20 percent, in average household income. In 2014 that gap in the Bridgeport area was $397,500 a year. San Jose ranks second.
The technology-fueled wealth gap in San Jose is expanding faster than the Wall Street-supported wealth gap in Connecticut's toniest suburbs. The rich-to-poor gap increased by $40,700 in the Silicon Valley hub from 2008 to 2014. While Bridgeport was among the 93 of 100 metros that saw their wealthgap expand, it didn't make the top 10 when ranked by growth of the wealth gap over that six-year period.
If you live near Bridgeport, it may be hard to tell who is in the middle class. Households in the 30th percentile of income levels and those in the 80th percentile are both considered middle class, but the amount they're bringing in each year differs by a whopping $143,700 in this Connecticut region, the data show.
