Study: Gwinnett County Hinders Future of Poor Youngsters

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By JUSTIN OVE

Young Gwinnett County residents living in economically disadvantaged families will see less income mobility compared to other poor children across the country, according to a new study from the New York Times.

The study, released on Monday, reports that children growing up in 25th percentile income families in the county will have earned around $1,580 less in income by the age of 26 compared to children living in similar conditions across the country.

This puts Gwinnett in the bottom 16 percent of counties nationally, according to the study.

Read more about the study at The New York Times.

But the numbers are significantly different by gender.

Gwinnett is ranked 14th out of 15 metro counties for boys in the poorest families, but second for girls.

Fayette County ranked first in both categories in metro Atlanta.

According to the data, Gwinnett’s poorest boys would make $3,490 less than their peers by the age of 26, besting only three percent of the population.

The study suggests it’s better for low-income girls, who would make $840 more than average, better than 57 percent of the population.

It gets better for Gwinnett’s children as their families’ economic status improves; middle-income kids would make $580 more than their peers nationwide, with girls making $2,460 more than their peers by the time they’re age 26.

High-income kids would make about $2,750 more than their colleagues, while “one percent” children would make around $4,310 more than their peers across the country.

— Scott Bernarde contributed