Just before the economy tanked, New York’s rich got richer.
More than 43,000 city households last year joined the wealth club of those earning $200,000 annually or more, according to new US Census figures.
The jump was part of a rapidly growing income gap across the country that saw middle- and low-income families get pinched more by the recession.
In Manhattan, the number of households with incomes below $10,000 a year rose by 529 in 2008 — while those in the $200,000-a-year class shot up by more than 19,000.
Other boroughs also saw a spike in the wealthiest households: an increase of more than 6,000 in Brooklyn, 5,300 in Queens, 1,500 in The Bronx and 1,400 on Staten Island.
In contrast, the average US household had an income of $50,303 last year, the lowest level in 12 years, and down from $52,163 in 2007.
“No one should be surprised at the increased disparity,” said Richard Freeman, a Harvard University economist. “Unemployment hurts normal workers who do not have the golden parachutes the folks at the top have.”