The top 1% are not all created equal, at least from state to state, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Connecticut residents have to have $659,979 in family income to hit the threshold. The study confirms one by 24/7 Wall St. titled “States With the Widest Gap Between Rich and Poor.”
The threshold is nearly as high in several states, and higher in some cities. Based on a new EPI report titled “Income inequality in the U.S. by state, metropolitan area, and county,” researchers found:
For states the highest thresholds are in Connecticut ($659,979), the District of Columbia ($554,719), New Jersey ($547,737), Massachusetts ($539,055), and New York ($517,557). Thresholds above $1 million can be found in four metro areas (Jackson, Wyoming-Idaho; Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut; Summit Park, Utah; and Williston, North Dakota) and 12 counties.
On a national basis, the figure was $389,436, based on data from 2013.
At the bottom of the list, the family income to be in the top 1% is much smaller, although still remarkably large. In New Mexico it is $231,276, in Arkansas $237,428 and in West Virginia $244,879.
The EPI study primarily focused on income inequality, which, as has been pointed out in other studies, is huge. The EPI data show:
In 24 states the top 1 percent captured at least half of all income growth between 2009 and 2013.
- In 15 of those states the top 1 percent captured all income growth between 2009 and 2013. Those states were Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
- In the other nine states, the top 1 percent captured between 50.0 and 94.4 percent of all income growth. Those states were Arizona, California, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
All the study shows, really, is that the rich get richer and the poor poorer. As far as the research goes, there is no end to that in sight.
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