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In a recent article, Greenwich Time continued its history of shoddy reporting, misrepresenting and misinterpreting data. In this latest example, Greenwich Time staff writer Jessica Simms conflates mean and the median, and draws incorrect inferences from the data she presents. Most significantly, the headline of the article claims that “median income” has changed significantly but presents average incomes as the evidence. According to the Census Bureau, Median Income has changed by 5% in Zip code 06870, not the 74% reported by Greenwich Time.
The Greenwich Time article reports IRS Data for Old Greenwich zip code 06870. The Greenwich Time correctly reports that average total income increased by 74% in Old Greenwich. However, as any high school student should know, Averages are affected by extremes, and a few large earners can skew the average significantly making the average meaningless. Total income also tends to fluctuate, especially in smaller regions with fewer tax payers.
The more commonly reported Median Income represents the true middle of the income range, in which half make more and half less. But the Greenwich Time article headline mixes the two. The actual, Old Greenwich median household income as reported by the Census Bureau is $215,000, a fraction of the $898,202 average reported in the Greenwich Time article. And few would consider a 5% change over 9 years “significant.”
The Greenwich Time article also implies there has been an increase in residents based on Old Greenwich data. In fact, the IRS Data shows that the total number of tax returns filed in Greenwich declined by 1.4% between 2013 and 2021, indicating 400 households moved away or elected to file elsewhere, presumably in search of lower taxes. The largest declines in tax filers were in 06831 (2.4%) and 06830 (2.0%). Old Greenwich, which is the smallest zip code in town, saw a minor increase in returns filed in 06870 (1.4%) and was the only zip showing an increase.
The article also touts the average selling price of homes. This is again misleading, as the average selling price is skewed by the homes on the market, which tend to be newer and updated, and in any event is only a fraction of all the homes in town. This is not representative of the average home in Greenwich.
The reality is that taxpayers have left, and Greenwich Time misrepresented the income of those here.
