Nation’s Income Inequality Rising Since Late 1970s

The increase in income inequality in the United States began in the late 1970s and has continued since the end of the Great Recession, according to a report released last month by the Economic Policy Institute of Washington, D.C.

“It affects every state, and extends to the nation’s metro areas and counties, many of which are more unequal than the country as a whole,” said the report, “Income Inequality in the U.S. by State, Metropolitan Area, and County.”

“In fact, the unequal income growth since the late 1970s has pushed the top 1 percent’s share of all income above 24 percent (the 1928 national peak share) in five states, 22 metro areas, and 75 counties.”

In Arkansas, the average yearly income of the top 1 percent is $750,101; the average yearly income of the bottom 99 percent is $36,421. The threshold to reach the top 1 percent in Arkansas is an annual income of $237,428.

Source: Economic Policy Institute