The most prosperous parts of the U.S. have recovered nicely from the 2008 financial crisis, but many other places remain mired in high unemployment and poverty, according to a report measuring wealth levels by ZIP code.
"The United States is still a land of opportunity for many. But when it comes to life outcomes, geography is too often destiny," says a report from the Economic Innovation Group, a research organization.
Despite the economic recovery, the report says, life for those in the most distressed ZIP codes looks "much more like an ongoing downturn. Large swaths of the country are indeed being left behind by economic growth and change."
The report says the story is much different in the most prosperous ZIP codes:
"The country's top ZIP codes, meanwhile, are in the midst of an economic boom. ZIP codes mere miles apart occupy vastly different planes of community well-being — and few people are truly mobile between them."
