NEW YORK, Nov. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- There is a greater income gap among Hispanics, Asians and blacks in New York state compared to whites, a phenomenon experts link to poverty and immigration trends, reported The New York Post Monday.

    The paper, citing an analysis of Census 2000 data by The Associated Press, said the gap between rich and poor whites in NewYork is a bit narrower than the state's overall income gap. The income disparity for blacks was closer to the state average, as it was for Asians and Hispanics.

    Put differently, the income levels of whites in New York are more closely clustered than those of blacks, Hispanics or Asians, the paper said.

    Roderick Harrison, a demographer at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which focuses on issues concerning minorities, said income gaps would be greater among those non-white groups because a higher percentage of people have low incomes.

    The recent immigrant population, particularly for Hispanics and Asians, has contributed to elevated poverty rates, he said.

    On average, New York has greater income disparity among its total population than any other US state, much of it driven by greater gaps in New York City, whose population growth in the 1990s was fueled by immigration. Enditem