How severe is income inequality in your state?

- Gini Index estimate: 0.42
- County with highest inequality: Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area (Gini Index estimate: 0.45)
- County with lowest inequality: Skagway Municipality (Gini Index estimate: 0.33)
- Number of counties: 29

Alaska, which isn’t densely populated, has the lowest rate of income inequality. It showed a decrease in income disparity from 2015 to 2016.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.42
- County with highest inequality: Albany County (Gini Index estimate: 0.50)
- County with lowest inequality: Sublette County (Gini Index estimate: 0.33)
- Number of counties: 23

Jackson, Wyo., home to Teton County and the Jackson Hole ski area, in 2016 had the worst income inequality of any metro area in the United States. However, the overall state hasn’t seen much of a change since 2010.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.43
- County with highest inequality: Summit County (Gini Index estimate: 0.48)
- County with lowest inequality: Tooele County (Gini Index estimate: 0.36)
- Number of counties: 29

While Utah as a state has the third-lowest income inequality in the country, Summit Count's Park City has a higher rate than the national average. The city is home to a large ski resort, where issues like affordable housing for low-income residents or seasonal workers are often a problem.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.43
- County with highest inequality: Hawaii County (Gini Index estimate: 0.46)
- County with lowest inequality: Kalawao County (Gini Index estimate: 0.40)
- Number of counties: 5

Unions are powerful in Hawaii, which helps prevent some income disparity. While Hawaii has a smaller difference between the rich and the poor compared to other states, it’s still harder for those at the bottom to raise their wealth.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.44
- County with highest inequality: Grafton County (Gini Index estimate: 0.47)
- County with lowest inequality: Sullivan County (Gini Index estimate: 0.41)
- Number of counties: 10

New Hampshire's income inequality is toward the bottom of the list, with wide rates of wealth disparity recently narrowing in Boston.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.44
- County with highest inequality: Johnson County (Gini Index estimate: 0.49)
- County with lowest inequality: Cedar County (Gini Index estimate: 0.37)
- Number of counties: 99
- Income disparity dropped slightly from 2015 to 2016 in Iowa, where rates were already below the national average.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.44
- County with highest inequality: Windsor County (Gini Index estimate: 0.47)
- County with lowest inequality: Orange County (Gini Index estimate: 0.40)
- Number of counties: 14

Vermont showed a 4.06% decline in income inequality from 2015 to 2016. Earlier this year, Vermont voted to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. Raising the minimum wage is one non-tax option to help reduce poverty and income inequality.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.44
- County with highest inequality: Ozaukee County (Gini Index estimate: 0.48)
- County with lowest inequality: Calumet County (Gini Index estimate: 0.37)
- Number of counties: 72

A 2017 report showed that levels of income inequality in Wisconsin increased to rates unseen since the Great Depression. Low- and middle-income earners also pay more of their income to taxes than their wealthier counterparts.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.44
- County with highest inequality: Campbell County (Gini Index estimate: 0.54)
- County with lowest inequality: Hamlin County (Gini Index estimate: 0.38)
- Number of counties: 66

The income inequality rate for the state grew a little over 1% from 2015 to 2016, but it spiked 8.53% in Campbell County over the same time period.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.44
- County with highest inequality: Madison County (Gini Index estimate: 0.51)
- County with lowest inequality: Power County (Gini Index estimate: 0.36)
- Number of counties: 44

The wealth gap in the Boise area widened by $44,400 to $170,000 from 2011 to 2016, putting it at #7 on Bloomberg's top 10 cities with the fastest-growing wealth disparity. The gap grew by $31,000 on a national level.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.44
- County with highest inequality: Banner County (Gini Index estimate: 0.52)
- County with lowest inequality: Gosper County (Gini Index estimate: 0.36)
- Number of counties: 93

Overall income inequality is lower in Nebraska than most other states, but the difference in pay between men and women is higher than it is nationally. In 2017, the average woman would have had to work three more months to make the same as her male counterpart.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: New Castle County (Gini Index estimate: 0.45)
- County with lowest inequality: Kent County (Gini Index estimate: 0.42)
- Number of counties: 3

A century ago, Delaware had the most income inequality of any state in the United States. The rate dropped after a state income tax of 19.8% was introduced and higher-income households moved away.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: Hennepin County (Gini Index estimate: 0.49)
- County with lowest inequality: Lake of the Woods County (Gini Index estimate: 0.36)
- Number of counties: 87

Income inequality is highest in Hennepin County, home to Minneapolis and Minnesota’s most populous county. In 2017, Minnesota was ranked the second worst state for racial equality after Wisconsin.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: Monroe County (Gini Index estimate: 0.51)
- County with lowest inequality: Union County (Gini Index estimate: 0.37)
- Number of counties: 92

Over the past 10 years, only two other states have had a higher increase of income inequality than Indiana. The top fifth of Indiana households saw a their median income increase by 20.9% from 2007 to 2016, a rate that was four times higher than the poorest fifth in the state.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: Baltimore city (Gini Index estimate: 0.51)
- County with lowest inequality: Calvert County (Gini Index estimate: 0.38)
- Number of counties: 24

The disparity in household income is highest in Baltimore. There is a large gap in wealth between whites and other races. Many point to income inequality as the cause of much of the unrest and violence in the city.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: Lincoln County (Gini Index estimate: 0.50)
- County with lowest inequality: Lander County (Gini Index estimate: 0.35)
- Number of counties: 17

Nevada’s minimum wage did not increase this year, but they are one of a few states that require employers to pay daily overtime in addition to overtime for more than 40 hours a week.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: Cumberland County (Gini Index estimate: 0.47)
- County with lowest inequality: Knox County (Gini Index estimate: 0.42)
- Number of counties: 16

Voters in 2016 passed a 3% surtax on those making more than $200,000 a year. Activists in Maine are trying to get a proposal on the ballot that would partially close the federal loophole that allows the wealthy to avoid paying Social Security payroll taxes on a majority of their income.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: Whitman County (Gini Index estimate: 0.51)
- County with lowest inequality: Douglas County (Gini Index estimate: 0.38)
- Number of counties: 39

Seattle’s Gini coefficient hit its highest levels in 2016, rivaling the income disparity of San Francisco. The richest 20% earned more than half of the city’s total income and also snagged a $40,000 raise in pay.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: Decatur County (Gini Index estimate: 0.50)
- County with lowest inequality: Jefferson County (Gini Index estimate: 0.34)
- Number of counties: 105

Kansas saw a slight decline in income disparity from 2015 to 2016.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.45
- County with highest inequality: Glacier County (Gini Index estimate: 0.52)
- County with lowest inequality: Treasure County (Gini Index estimate: 0.35)
- Number of counties: 56

Montana's income inequality grew at a faster rate than any other state from 2010 to 2016. Housing prices have risen 40% over the past seven years, but incomes have only risen by 10%.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.46
- County with highest inequality: Divide County (Gini Index estimate: 0.54)
- County with lowest inequality: Mercer County (Gini Index estimate: 0.37)
- Number of counties: 53

The minimum wage in North Dakota is currently $7.25, but there is a push to get a vote on the ballot that would raise it to $15.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.46
- County with highest inequality: Pitkin County (Gini Index estimate: 0.55)
- County with lowest inequality: Lake County (Gini Index estimate: 0.38)
- Number of counties: 64

Pitkin County, home to the ski resort town of Aspen, shows the highest rate of income inequality in the state. Colorado is a popular place for vacation homes, and the state has some of the most highly visited ski resorts in the country, causing a crisis in the availability of affordable housing.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.46
- County with highest inequality: Sherman County (Gini Index estimate: 0.49)
- County with lowest inequality: Morrow County (Gini Index estimate: 0.38)
- Number of counties: 36

In 2015, the richest 1% in Oregon made more than the bottom half of all Oregonians combined. In 2016, Portland passed a tax penalty on corporations who had major gaps between CEO and worker compensation. The Oregon Center for Public Policy claims stronger unions would help reduce the state’s wealth gap.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.46
- County with highest inequality: St. Louis city (Gini Index estimate: 0.51)
- County with lowest inequality: Monroe County (Gini Index estimate: 0.37)
- Number of counties: 115

The wealth gap among races hasn’t closed in St. Louis, where black households earned 49% of what white households did from 2011 to 2016.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.46
- County with highest inequality: Wayne County (Gini Index estimate: 0.49)
- County with lowest inequality: Livingston County (Gini Index estimate: 0.39)
- Number of counties: 83

The richest households in Michigan increased their wealth by 20% from 2007 to 2016, a rate that was twice as much as those in the middle-income range and three times as much as the poorest households.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.46
- County with highest inequality: Monongalia County (Gini Index estimate: 0.52)
- County with lowest inequality: Grant County (Gini Index estimate: 0.40)
- Number of counties: 55

In a blow to unions in 2017, the West Virginia Supreme Court reversed their decision to block the state’s "right-to-work" law, which means employees do not have to pay union dues as a condition of employment. The Economic Policy Institute shows that right-to-work laws lower wages and benefits, and do not have a positive impact on job growth.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.46
- County with highest inequality: Athens County (Gini Index estimate: 0.51)
- County with lowest inequality: Putnam County (Gini Index estimate: 0.37)
- Number of counties: 88

While the cost of real estate in Ohio has stayed relatively stable over the past 10 years, income among middle-class earners fell by 0.6%. Income disparities among white and non-white households also remain, with Toledo and Cleveland faring the worst.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Apache County (Gini Index estimate: 0.48)
- County with lowest inequality: Greenlee County (Gini Index estimate: 0.40)
- Number of counties: 15

The richest households in Arizona are increasing their wealth at a higher rate than the middle class and poor. It is one of four states where the poor became poorer over the past 10 years.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Payne County (Gini Index estimate: 0.51)
- County with lowest inequality: Canadian County (Gini Index estimate: 0.39)
- Number of counties: 77

While income inequality in the state was at an all-time high in 2015, Oklahoma saw a modest decline from 2015 to 2016.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Richmond city (Gini Index estimate: 0.54)
- County with lowest inequality: Prince George County (Gini Index estimate: 0.36)
- Number of counties: 133

The wealth gap varies across Virginia, with more disparity seen in urban areas like Richmond and Williamsburg.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Philadelphia County (Gini Index estimate: 0.51)
- County with lowest inequality: Perry County (Gini Index estimate: 0.38)
- Number of counties: 67

Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25—the rate mandated by the federal government. In 2017, Gov. Tom Wolf unsuccessfully tried to raise the rate to $12.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Williamsburg County (Gini Index estimate: 0.50)
- County with lowest inequality: Jasper County (Gini Index estimate: 0.42)
- Number of counties: 46

Charleston’s wealth gap is on the rise, partly due to an increase in the cost of housing and a lack of transportation for those who can’t afford to live in the city. Income inequality between black and white households hasn’t seen a decrease in 50 years.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Chicot County (Gini Index estimate: 0.54)
- County with lowest inequality: Saline County (Gini Index estimate: 0.38)
- Number of counties: 75

The top 1% in Arkansas saw incomes grow by 110% since 1979. The remaining 99% has only seen a 9% increase.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Providence County (Gini Index estimate: 0.48)
- County with lowest inequality: Washington County (Gini Index estimate: 0.43)
- Number of counties: 5

Providence has the third-highest wealth gap of any city in the country. The richest residents make 16.7 times more than the poorest.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Mason County (Gini Index estimate: 0.52)
- County with lowest inequality: Hickman County (Gini Index estimate: 0.35)
- Number of counties: 120

In 2016, those in the top 1% had an average income that was 20 times higher than the remaining 99%. Kentucky teachers went on strike earlier this year to protest low pay and the Kentucky Derby, a symbol they say represents the state's inequality.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.47
- County with highest inequality: Watauga County (Gini Index estimate: 0.53)
- County with lowest inequality: Hyde County (Gini Index estimate: 0.37)
- Number of counties: 100

North Carolina passed a budget in 2017 to cut the personal income tax rate and raise the standard deduction. It will also lower the corporate income tax rate. The rates go into effect in 2019. The North Carolina Democratic Party was disappointed with the budget, saying it will give more tax cuts to wealthy households and corporations.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Lowndes County (Gini Index estimate: 0.55)
- County with lowest inequality: Blount County (Gini Index estimate: 0.40)
- Number of counties: 67

The United Nations reported surprise in 2017 that some places in Alabama had poverty levels not normally seen in the developed world.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Essex County (Gini Index estimate: 0.54)
- County with lowest inequality: Sussex County (Gini Index estimate: 0.41)
- Number of counties: 21

Income inequality has grown over the past 10 years, but the state is just under the national average. The wealth gap is largest in Millburn, home to the state’s highest-median household incomes, and Newark, where incomes are lowest.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Socorro County (Gini Index estimate: 0.54)
- County with lowest inequality: Los Alamos County (Gini Index estimate: 0.39)
- Number of counties: 33

The wealth gap has been growing for decades in New Mexico, with the rich seeing increases in wealth, and the poor and middle class seeing declines in wealth.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Jackson County (Gini Index estimate: 0.53)
- County with lowest inequality: Kendall County (Gini Index estimate: 0.36)
- Number of counties: 102

Illinois' poverty rate declined throughout the state in 2016 but income inequality remained steady. Chicago's racial wealth gap, the divide between white and minority household incomes, remains higher than the national average.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Scott County (Gini Index estimate: 0.54)
- County with lowest inequality: Lewis County (Gini Index estimate: 0.39)
- Number of counties: 95

Tennessee opted in 2016 to phase out the income tax by 2021. Instead of getting revenue from taxes on personal income, the state depends on sales taxes from goods like food, gasoline, and clothing. Taxing these necessities means low- and middle-income people will give away a larger proportion of their income compared to their richer counterparts.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Oktibbeha County (Gini Index estimate: 0.55)
- County with lowest inequality: DeSoto County (Gini Index estimate: 0.39)
- Number of counties: 82

As of 2016, Mississippi had the worst poverty rates in the country. More than 20% of the population was in poverty—that’s 6% above the national rate.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: La Salle County (Gini Index estimate: 0.60)
- County with lowest inequality: Foard County (Gini Index estimate: 0.37)
- Number of counties: 254

Poverty rates declined and median household incomes increased around 2% in 2016, but economic disparities remained among whites and minorities, and between men and women. In La Salle County, an area rich with oil fields and income inequality, the top 1% made 126 times more than everyone else.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Randolph County (Gini Index estimate: 0.62)
- County with lowest inequality: Chattahoochee County (Gini Index estimate: 0.35)
- Number of counties: 159

Atlanta claimed the top spot in 2016 for the country’s most economically unequal city. The top 5% earned at least 18 times as much as the bottom 20% of households. The state also has some of the highest poverty rates in the country.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Suffolk County (Gini Index estimate: 0.53)
- County with lowest inequality: Franklin County (Gini Index estimate: 0.43)
- Number of counties: 14

While not the worst in the country, Boston still ranks in the top 10 U.S. cities with the largest wealth gap. Massachusetts has a ballot initiative that would add a 4% tax on those making more than $1 million. Revenue would go toward public transportation and education.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.48
- County with highest inequality: Collier County (Gini Index estimate: 0.53)
- County with lowest inequality: Wakulla County (Gini Index estimate: 0.40)
- Number of counties: 67

Miami ranked in the top five in 2016 for cities with the highest income inequality. The Miami-Dade area has a small middle class, with only 15% of households making between $34,000 and $51,000. Most jobs are low-wage and many spend a large portion of their income on basic necessities. Florida also has no personal income tax and relies on revenue from taxes in other forms, meaning low-wage earners give a larger percentage of their income to the government.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.49
- County with highest inequality: Marin County (Gini Index estimate: 0.53)
- County with lowest inequality: Mono County (Gini Index estimate: 0.36)
- Number of counties: 58

Affordable housing is a major problem in California, where some residents are succumbing to sleeping in their cars. Housing is so expensive in San Francisco that making $117,400 is now considered low-income. Metro areas like San Francisco and San Jose claim some of the highest levels of income inequality in the country. The top 5% of households in these areas make more than 10% as much as those in the bottom 20%. Nearly a third of households in Silicon Valley don’t make enough money to cover their basic needs without aid.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.49
- County with highest inequality: Orleans Parish (Gini Index estimate: 0.57)
- County with lowest inequality: Ascension Parish (Gini Index estimate: 0.40)
- Number of counties: 64

Louisiana joined Alabama in 2016 as the two states where poverty rates are above 20%. New Orleans and Baton Rouge were among the top 10 cities with a high disparity in income. A report released earlier this year shows the wage gap between men and women is the largest in the country.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.49
- County with highest inequality: Fairfield County (Gini Index estimate: 0.54)
- County with lowest inequality: Windham County (Gini Index estimate: 0.41)
- Number of counties: 8

The Bridgeport metropolitan area sits at the top of list for the highest rate of income inequality in the country. Since the recession, only the richest households have increased their wealth. From 1970 to 2013, the top 1% claimed 30% of the income increases in Connecticut.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.51
- County with highest inequality: New York County (Gini Index estimate: 0.60)
- County with lowest inequality: Wyoming County (Gini Index estimate: 0.39)
- Number of counties: 62

New York County, home to Wall Street and Manhattan, has the fourth-highest levels of inequality for a U.S. county. New York City claims a spot in the top 10 for U.S. cities with the most wealth disparity. The top 5% of earners in the city make an average of 15 times more than those in the bottom 20%.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.53
- County with highest inequality: District of Columbia (Gini Index estimate: 0.53)
- County with lowest inequality: N/A (Gini Index estimate: N/A)
- Number of counties: 1

In 2016, income earners in the District of Columbia’s top 20% earned 29 times more than those in the lower 20%, while the bottom fifth only took home 2% of the total income.

- Gini Index estimate: 0.54
- County with highest inequality: San Juan Municipio (Gini Index estimate: 0.61)
- County with lowest inequality: Vieques Municipio (Gini Index estimate: 0.41)
- Number of counties: 78

Puerto Rico’s poor, stagnant labor market and weak, private sector contributes to the island’s income inequality. More than 40% of Puerto Rican residents live below the poverty line, and the aftermath of Hurricane Maria made things worse by preventing thousands of people from working.