Employment for Ward 5 remains among the lowest of all Wards in DC at 7.6%. In looking around the Gateway community in general, it is easy to see why. There is not much commerce in the neighborhood and the jobs that do exist are low-income, low skilled jobs. The average household income is in the $70,000 which falls above the national average. However, the cost of living is expensive. There is only one home for sale in the Gateway neighborhood and the cost is almost $600,000. In addition, taxes are high, insurance is high, everything is high because of the district zip code. Almost 30% of people in the Gateway neighborhood are burdened financially. Almost 700 bankruptcies have been recorded further showing the financial stress on this neighborhood. Finally, over 25% of Gateway households are underbanked, meaning they do not have the resources necessary to save their money effectively. In fact, many of Gateway's residents may not even know about effective money management strategies to help lessen the economic burden. |