These Metro Areas Have The Worst Income Inequality In The Nation And 6 Of The Top 13 Are In Florida

Businessman holding money at the seminar.

iStockphoto / AH86


Income equality in America is reaching historic levels while the true middle class is dying.

This might seem like bullshit, like a phrase you only see on the news in stories about how some politician is coming for your bank account, but when you look at the numbers it becomes painfully obvious how very real income equality is in America.

A recent study from the Economic Policy Institute looked at income inequality throughout America by comparing the average income of the Top 1% against the other 99%. They ran these numbers state by state and city by city.

Of the top 13 metro areas in America with the largest disparity in income, Florida has six cities on the list. Which might seem odd until you realize that Florida is where people go to die. It’s literally the retirement capital of the world and in 4 of the 6 Florida cities on the list people aged 65 or older account for 25% of the population.

So when you factor in how you’ve got all these wealthy retirees sitting around at country clubs just down the street from retirees inside of trailer parks with zero income then these numbers for Florida aren’t quite as perplexing.

Andrew DePietro of Forbes put together this list of the 13 cities in America with the largest income divide. Here are the top 10:

1. Los Angeles:
— Average income of top 1%: $1,803,340
— Average income of bottom 99%: $53,904

2. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward:
— Average income of top 1%: $2,812,641
— Average income of bottom 99%: $82,321

3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
— Average income of top 1%: $3,445,220
— Average income of bottom 99%: $99,486

4. Las Vegas
— Average income of top 1%: $1,418,143
— Average income of bottom 99%: $40,770

5. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.-Mo.
— Average income of top 1%: $1,961,857
— Average income of bottom 99%: $52,723

6. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
— Average income of top 1%: $1,673,922
— Average income of bottom 99%: $43,148

7. New York
— Average income of top 1%: $2,425,384
— Average income of bottom 99%: $61,550

8. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
— Average income of top 1%: $1,810,660
— Average income of bottom 99%: $42,021

9. Port St. Lucie, Fla.
— Average income of top 1%: $1,737,118
— Average income of bottom 99%: $38,212

10. Miami
— Average income of top 1%: $2,345,381
— Average income of bottom 99%: $42,319

If you’re wondering why Arkansas is on that list the answer’s Walmart. The Walton Family owns Walmart and they’re some of the wealthiest billionaires in the world. Walmart is headquartered out of Fayetteville so there are also other executives there. Hence the huge amount of wealth in Arkansas.

I can’t say that I’m super stoked to see my hometown at #8 on the list and the city I lived in for the previous decade at #7 on the list. It’s not that I’m not making enough money, I do just fine. But I apparently keep picking places to live with outrageous disparities in income between the Top 1% and the other 99%, but that’s what I get for being a born and raised Floridian who moved to NYC after college.

The study also broke down the states with the largest disparities in income between the top 1% and the other 99% with New York coming in at #1 on the list and Alaska at #50.

Here’s what that top 5 looks like:

1. New York: $2,202,480 vs $49,617
2. Florida: $1,543,124 vs $39,094
3. Connecticut: $2,522,806 vs $67,742
4. Nevada: $1,354,780 vs $41,470
5. Wyoming: $1,900,659 vs $60,922

I’m a little shocked that the average income of the bottom 99% in Florida is only $39,094. It’s so much lower than the other states on the EPI list.

If you didn’t see your state/city above you can click here to read that study in full and/or check out the article on Forbes!