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This Little Town Has the Worst Income Inequality in America

Income inequality is on the rise in America — and, in some places, the difference in income between the top 1% and the rest of us is particularly stark.

The top 1% takes home more than 20% of all the income in the U.S., according to a report released in June 2016 by the nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank Economic Policy Institute, based in Washington D.C. “The share of all income held by the top 1% in recent years has approached or surpassed historical highs,” the report revealed.

Nowadays, the average annual income of the top 1% is more than $1.15 million (you need to make nearly $390,000 to even make it into the top 1% now), while the average income for the rest of the U.S. population is just over $45,500.

In some areas of the country, income inequality is particularly high. There are now 165 counties—out of more than 3,000—that have an income inequality gap that is larger than the national average). Here are the 10 counties with the highest levels of income inequality: Teton, Wyo. (top 1% makes 233 times more than the rest of us); La Salle, Texas (125.6 times); Shackelford, Texas (117.1 times); New York, N.Y. (115.6 times); Custer, Colo. (86.6times); Fairfield, Conn. (73.7 times); Franklin, Fla. (73.4 times); Collier, Fla. (73.2 times); Pitkin, Colo. (68.8 times) and San Juan, Wash. (68.8 times).

There are some anomalies that skew the figures, however. Teton, Wyo., which has the highest income inequality in America, is a vacation spot (it contains the Jackson Hole ski area where many ultra-affluent people own homes). Many of the other counties where income inequality was highest tend to be in states where income inequality is also highest, such as New York, Connecticut and Texas (all of which rank in the top 10 states with the highest income inequality, according to EPI data). New York and Connecticut have high income inequality thanks in part to the concentration of the financial sector in the area, which has made some people very rich, EPI reveals; in Texas, energy and oil companies have done the same.

On the flip side, these are the places where income inequality is least. Wade Hampton, Alaska (top 1% makes 5.1 times more than the rest of us); Manassas Park City, Va. (5.1 times); Shannon, S.D. (5.3 times); Aleutians West, Alaska (5.4 times); Chattahoochee, Ga. (5.7 times). These counties tend to have low income inequality because they don’t have a lot of high-income occupations or industries.

It’s important to note that, while income inequality has myriad downsides, places with low income inequality aren’t always better off. Indeed, some of the counties in America with low income inequality are that way simply because people are generally poor in throughout the county.

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