States With Widest Gap Between Rich/Poor

It's no secret that the wealth and income gap between the rich and the poor in the United States is large and growing. In fact, the gap is now as large as it was in the 1920's, right before the Great Depression -- and it's growing larger. While incomes are still growing for the rich (and they are making record amounts of income), the incomes for the middle and working classes has actually dropped in the last 30 years (when inflation is accounted for).

Americans like to think we are a rich nation and everyone gets to participate in the riches of this nation, but that is far from the truth. The CIA produces a fact book that rates all nations according to their wealth equality, and the United States doesn't do to well on that list -- with 41 countries being rated better in wealth equality than the United States (including some of the poorest nations). This should be a source of great embarrassment for the U.S., since we actually have the wealth to eliminate poverty (but not the political will) while many of the nations ahead of us on the inequality list do not.

And just like some nations are more equal in wealth and income distribution than other nations, the same is true of states inside the United States. There is a wider gap between the rich and poor in some states than in others. The inequality is represented by a number called the Gini coefficient, which is "a ratio between zero and one that represents perfect equality at zero and significant concentrations of wealth, extreme poverty and a limited middle class as the ration increases." In other words, the larger the number the greater the inequality.

The 24/7 Wall St. Morning Newsletter has written a good article on this wealth and income inequality between the states. The national average for the Gini coefficient is 0.476 (not very good -- about halfway between perfect equality and extreme inequality). The state with the best Gini coefficient is Wyoming, which is 0.408 (still not great). Here are the ten states with the biggest gap between the rich and poor (with some figures to ponder):

1. New York
> Gini coefficient: 0.5033
> Median household income: $55,246 (16th highest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 8.0% (6th highest)
> Population living below poverty line: 16.0% (21st highest)

2. Connecticut
> Gini coefficient: 0.4859
> Median household income: $65,753 (4th highest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 11.2% (the highest)
> Population living below poverty line: 10.9% (5th lowest)

3. Louisiana 
> Gini coefficient: 0.4836
> Median household income: $41,734 (7th lowest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 3.5% (17th lowest)
> Population living below poverty line: 20.4% (3rd highest)

4. New Mexico
> Gini coefficient: 0.4821
> Median household income: $41,963 (8th lowest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 3.4% (tied for 15th lowest)
> Population living below poverty line: 21.5% (2nd highest)

5. California 
> Gini coefficient: 0.4812
> Median household income: $57,287 (10th highest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 7.8% (7th highest)
> Population living below poverty line: 16.6% (18th highest)

6. Florida
> Gini coefficient: 0.4811
> Median household income: $44,299 (14th lowest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 4.4% (19th highest)
> Population living below poverty line: 17.0% (17th highest)

7. Massachusetts
> Gini coefficient: 0.4771
> Median household income: $62,859 (5th highest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 9.9% (4th highest)
> Population living below poverty line: 11.6% (9th lowest)

8. Texas
> Gini coefficient: 0.4771
> Median household income: $49,392 (25th highest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 5.4% (16th highest)
> Population living below poverty line: 18.5% (11th highest)

9. Georgia
> Gini coefficient: 0.4770
> Median household income: $46,007 (18th lowest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 4.3% (21st highest)
> Population living below poverty line: 19.1% (5th highest)

10. Tennessee
> Gini coefficient: 0.4756
> Median household income: $41,693 (6th lowest)
> Households earning $200,000+: 3.4% (tied for 15th lowest)
> Population living below poverty line: 18.3% (12th highest)