Nine of the 10 U.S. counties with the greatest gaps between rich and poor grew even more unequal during the last decade, according to a Social Explorer analysis of newly released 2015-19 American Community Survey data. Only New York County – home to the nation’s financial center and the sixth most-unequal place in the U.S. – reported shrinking in the gap between rich and poor.

The gap is measured by the Gini coefficient, which assigns a value between 0 (meaning wealth is distributed evenly) and 1 (wealth is controlled by one household). The U.S. has a Gini of 0.48, an increase from the 0.47 recorded in 2010. East Carroll Parish, La., the nation’s most unequal county, has a Gini of 0.71, a significant increase from the 0.65 reported in 2010. Use Social Explorer’s online, easy-to-use mapping tools to look at the changes in income inequality over the last decade in your county.

Gini Index, 2010-19. Click here to explore further.

Author: Frank Bass