Atlanta has the highest income inequality among large U.S. cities, according to recent data from the United States Census Bureau. Driving much of Atlanta’s income inequality, experts say, is the city’s entrenched racial disparities which took root generations ago.
Even as the city continues to prosper, many Black Atlantans in particular have been left out of its economic success story of the past several years, they add. The persistent economic struggles have been exacerbated by general inflation, especially rising food and gas prices, which are hitting lower-income residents hard.
“When a very large percentage is vulnerable to that kind of economic pressure it says that we have a lot of work to do,” said Kyle Waide, president and CEO of The Atlanta Community Food Bank, which is experiencing soaring demand for services.
