Photo Credit: Jkinsocal | Cover Photo: Mlewis2005
When people think of income inequality, most people think of a New York stockbroker hustling past a homeless person on a Manhattan sidewalk.
Related: Teton County, WY = The Richest County in America
However it appears as though one ski town has trumped Silicon Valley and New York as the metropolitan area with the largest income gap. According to the Economic Policy Institute, Jackson WY-ID is sporting the largest income gap in America and the runner-up isn’t even close. In their recently published report, the institute claims that the average annual income for the top 1% in Jackson, WY-ID is $19,995,834 while the other 99% make an average of $93,891.
That means the top 1% in Jackson make 213 times as much as the other 99% of its population!
And while that ratio is miles ahead of the competition, Jackson was not the only ski town to break the top 20 list for income inequality. Hailey, ID, Summit Park, UT, and Reno, NV are also sporting massive inequality ratios.
Due to Teton County’s tax haven status, many of America’s wealthiest continue to flood into the valley, which has led to a massive housing crisis that has outpriced its native work force. The result– homeless ski bums living in decade old trucks while the wealthy hustle by in their sports car brand SUV’s.
Find the entire study here: Income inequality in the U.S. by state, metropolitan area, and county
