The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released a new report titled Income Inequality in the U.S. by State, Metropolitan Area, and County. The report documents income inequality across the U.S. dating back to 1917. The authors conclude that income inequality is a long term, widespread trend that has grown significantly since the Great Recession.
While the share of income received by the top 1% of earners declined in every state except Alaska between 1928 and 1979, the share increased in every state between 1979 and 2007. The trend in the growth of income inequality has continued through the recovery from the Great Recession. Between 2009 and 2013, incomes for the bottom 99% of earners grew by 0.7%, while they grew by 17.4% for the top 1%. In 2013, the average income in the top 1% was $1,153,293 compared to $45,567 for the bottom 99%. In other words, those in the top 1%, on average, have incomes 25.3 times the incomes of those in the bottom 99%.
EPI released a data tool that allows users to explore income inequality in states, metropolitan areas, and counties. The data tool is available at: http://bit.ly/28JovMI
Access the full report at: http://www.epi.org/files/pdf/107100.pdf