Income Inequality In All 50 States: A Deep Dive On The County Level

In the massive and eclectic mosaic that is America, each county tells its own unique story, interwoven with threads of hope, ambition, dreams, and sometimes, stark contrasts. But in every state, there exists a county where these contrasts are most palpable — where the divide between the opulent and the struggling is not just a mere line but a chasm. These are the counties with the highest income inequality, and their tales are a reflection of the broader American narrative, laying bare the challenges and complexities of the very promise of the American Dream.

Using data sources from the Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (the latest data available), we analyzed every single U.S. state in terms of the county with the highest income inequality, as measured by its Gini index. The Gini index or Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality of a distribution, in this case income, with a value of 0 expressing total equality and a value of 1 total inequality. A higher Gini index indicates greater inequality.