Missourian Wealth Gap Project

"You Are Here" is a project examining the way America’s lopsided wealth distribution molds the lives and opportunities available to Columbia residents.
A team of reporters spent four months this spring immersed in everything from tax policy to financial psychology, interviewing local residents and weaving together stories of individuals, families, neighborhoods and community leaders. We hope to help readers gain a better understanding of the forces that help some get ahead and hold others back.
We’re calling the series “You Are Here” to emphasize that almost everyone in town lives in the lower end of the wealth gap.

To explore the issues, click on the quotes and images below. View all stories here.

"It’s not like you can buy a starter house like when we were young … because even the small places are being priced out of people’s reach."

-DeAnna Noriega

"There's never been a time in U.S. history when home ownership has been equally available to everyone."

-Jonathan Feingold

"I joke all the time that someday I'm going to live in a real house. Which is really sad. You shouldn't have to not love where you live."

-Suzan Schuetz

"The prospect of moving up and out, breaking out of the cage to fly free still resonates for many Americans, both Black and white"

-Dan McAdams

"“In American culture, mainstream American culture, we think we have lots of agency ... We’re supposed to be able to control our circumstances."

-Kate McLean

"I think anger is very, very valuable when people kind of awaken to the idea that maybe our financial system is a bully."

-Erika Rasure

"I did not come from money. Nor does my husband and that’s okay because we are hardworking people. And you know it’s no big deal … until you get sick."

-Breanna Crowder

"After law school we've basically gone from house to house to house to house, each one a little bigger than the other."

-Skip Walther

You Are Here

To explore the issues, click on the quotes and images below. View all stories here.

"We still own the houses and we're still there. That's the big picture of it."

"Until we find a way in Columbia to address the systems that prevent Black wealth, it’s an exercise in futility."

"We get a lot of forces working against us here. Which is a shame. It wasn't like that when I moved here"

"It’s not like you can buy a starter house like when we were young … because even the small places are being priced out of people’s reach."

"There's never been a time in U.S. history when home ownership has been equally available to everyone."

"I joke all the time that someday I'm going to live in a real house. Which is really sad. You shouldn't have to not love where you live."

"The prospect of moving up and out, breaking out of the cage to fly free still resonates for many Americans, both Black and white"

"“In American culture, mainstream American culture, we think we have lots of agency ... We’re supposed to be able to control our circumstances."

"I think anger is very, very valuable when people kind of awaken to the idea that maybe our financial system is a bully."

"I did not come from money. Nor does my husband and that’s okay because we are hardworking people. And you know it’s no big deal … until you get sick."

"After law school we've basically gone from house to house to house to house, each one a little bigger than the other."

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You Are Here

To explore the issues, click on the quotes and images below. View all stories here.

"We still own the houses and we're still there. That's the big picture of it."

"Until we find a way in Columbia to address the systems that prevent Black wealth, it’s an exercise in futility."

"We get a lot of forces working against us here. Which is a shame. It wasn't like that when I moved here"

"It’s not like you can buy a starter house like when we were young … because even the small places are being priced out of people’s reach."

"There's never been a time in U.S. history when home ownership has been equally available to everyone."

"I joke all the time that someday I'm going to live in a real house. Which is really sad. You shouldn't have to not love where you live."

"The prospect of moving up and out, breaking out of the cage to fly free still resonates for many Americans, both Black and white"

"“In American culture, mainstream American culture, we think we have lots of agency ... We’re supposed to be able to control our circumstances."

"I think anger is very, very valuable when people kind of awaken to the idea that maybe our financial system is a bully."

"I did not come from money. Nor does my husband and that’s okay because we are hardworking people. And you know it’s no big deal … until you get sick."

"After law school we've basically gone from house to house to house to house, each one a little bigger than the other."

Boone County Adaptive Capacity

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