Tacoma Income Hot Spots
What does the city look like, based on area median income?
In any given city, there will be different patterns of income distribution. From personal experience, we know there are 'good parts of town' and 'bad parts of town'. With GIS analysis, we can ratify the geographical differences within our cities, which might prompt questions about the historical significance of these patterns.
Central Tacoma
Courtesy: Hilltop Tacoma Facebook Page
Tacoma's North End
Courtesy: http://flytacoma.com/
Tacoma's AMI ranges from the highest, $140,000 in North East Tacoma, to a low of $12,000 in Eastside Tacoma.
About the analysis:
Pierce county median income by block group was used from U.S. Census data, then clipped to the Tacoma boundary. The block group data was converted to points, and interpolated using the inverse density weighted (IDW) method. Moving the newly created raster to ArcScene, the median income field was used as the z-axis to create a 3-D map, highlighting areas of income intensity.
Central Tacoma
Low = $26,000; High = $80,000; Mean = $48,000
North End
Low = $42,000; High = $120,000; Mean = $73,000
Eastside
Low = $12,000; High = $64,000; Mean = $43,000
North East
Low = $66,000; High = $140,000; Mean = $87,000
Analysis completed April, 2019.
Projection: NAD 1983 StatePlane HARN Washington South FIPS 4602 Feet
Sources: City of Tacoma GIS Data Portal 2019. Census median income block groups in 2013 inflation dollars (U.S. Census Bureau)
