A state-by-state examination of trends in income inequality over the past two business cycles ffinds that inequality has grown in most parts of the country since the late 1980s. The incomes of the country’s highest-income families have climbed substantially, while middle- and lower-income families have seen only modest increases. In fact, the long-standing trend of growing income inequality accelerated between the late 1990s and the mid-2000s (the latest period for which state data are available).
• On average, incomes have declined by 2.5 percent among the bottom fifth of families since the
late 1990s, while increasing by 9.1 percent among the top fifth.
• In 19 states, average incomes have grown more quickly among the top fifth of families than
among the bottom fifth since the late 1990s. In no state has the bottom fifth grown significantly faster than the top fifth.
• For very high-income families — the richest 5 percent — income growth since the late 1990s has been especially dramatic, and much faster than among the poorest fifth of families.