Income inequality is a rising concern for some Americans. But just how much do the top 1% earn on average? Take a look at our map below. We’ve mapped out the average income of the top 1% by county in the United States.
You can see here a map of the United separated by county. The counties listed on our map have some of the highest average incomes of the top 1% in the nation. The darker shaded areas indicate a higher average income of the top 1%, while the lighter areas have a lower average income of the top 1%.
Counties with highest average income of the top 1%
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Teton, Wyoming - Average Income of Top 1%: $28,163,786
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New York, New York - Average Income of Top 1%: $8,143,415
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Fairfield, Connecticut - Average Income of Top 1%: $6,061,230
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La Salle, Texas - Average Income of Top 1%: $6,021,357
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Pitkin, Colorado - Average Income of Top 1%: $5,289,153
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McKenzie, North Dakota - Average Income of Top 1%: $4,709,883
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Shackelford, Texas - Average Income of Top 1%: $4,585,725
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Westchester, New York - Average Income of Top 1%: $4,326,049
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Collier, Florida - Average Income of Top 1%: $4,191,055
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Union, South Dakota - Average Income of Top 1%: $4,106,670
Counties with the lowest average income of the top 1%
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Quitman, Georgia - Average Income of Top 1%: $127,425
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Taliaferro, Georgia - Average Income of Top 1%: $139,439
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Wade Hampton, Alaska - Average Income of Top 1%: $149,639
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Robertson, Kentucky - Average Income of Top 1%: $152,637
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Chattahoochee, Georgia - Average Income of Top 1%: $158,749
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Glascock, Georgia - Average Income of Top 1%: $169,027
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Shannon, South Dakota - Average Income of Top 1%: $174,433
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McCreary, Kentucky - Average Income of Top 1%: $177,132
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Menifee, Kentucky - Average Income of Top 1%: $177,192
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Jackson, Kentucky - Average Income of Top 1%: $178,917
The areas with the highest average income of the top 1% tend to be located in certain regions, but there are many others spread throughout the country as well. Many counties in Wyoming, North Dakota, Texas, Florida and the North East region have particularly high average incomes of the wealthiest 1%. Both New York and Texas have two counties each on the top 10 list, while Teton county in Wyoming boasts the highest average income of the top 1% in the United States by far at $28,163,786. Another interesting pattern can be seen on our map. Some states that are traditionally not considered wealthy or highly populated, such as North Dakota, Wyoming and Oklahoma, have many counties where the top 1% have above average incomes compared to the wealthy in other counties.
On the other side of the income spectrum, our map reveals that states in the South do not have many counties with a high average income of the top 1%. There are very few states in the South, with the exception of Virginia, with a high number of darkly shaded counties. 8 out of 10 counties on the list of lowest average incomes of the top 1% are located in the South. All 8 of these counties are located in either Georgia or Kentucky, with each placing 4 counties on the list. Quitman county in Georgia has the lowest average income of the top 1% in the entire United States at $127,425. The average income of the top 1% in Teton county, the county in the top spot, is 221 times as much as the average income of the top 1% in Quitman county.
Although almost all states have at least one darkly shaded county, there are a few states with many that tend to be grouped near each other. There are many counties in Wyoming, Texas, North Dakota, Florida and the North East with high average income of the top 1%, while the South has relatively few counties with high average income of the top 1%.
This Map Shows Where the 1% Lives pic.twitter.com/Nsq39Xrupk https://t.co/tjx7qDcg2F #incomeinequality #USA #dataviz via @howmuch_net
— How Much (@howmuch_net) July 5, 2016
Please feel free to leave your comments below! We would like to hear your feedback.
Sources: Table 1
Corrections:
- 5th of July: The previous version of this map wrongly showed De Witt, IL as $3.7M, that amounts belongs to DeWitt, TX. Thanks to Reddit user Cardboard Coyote for pointing it out.
- 6th of July: The previous version of this map wrongly showed Fulton, GA as $2.2B, that amount is incorrect, it is now corrected to $2.2M. Many thanks to Twitter user Eugene for pointing it out.