IRS records from 2007 show that the gap between the U.S.’s rich and the poor is widening significantly, judging from the difference between rich and poor counties’ adjusted gross incomes (AGI) and average salaries. Goochland County, Virginia, at the top of the AGI list, has an AGI of $137,045, which is 13.8 times the AGI of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, the county at the bottom of the list. However, St. Bernard Parish is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina in 2006, so it is at an unusual disadvantage. But Goochland County still has an AGI 7.76 times larger than the county with the next lowest AGI: Jackson County, South Dakota. Either way, this is a huge increase from 2006, when Fairfield County, Connecticut’s AGI was only 5.3 times the AGI of Hayes County, Nebraska. The five counties with the highest AGIs were the same as in 2006; they were Goochland County, VA, Teton County, WY, Fairfield County, CT, Falls Church City, VA, and Marin County, CA. The five lowest AGI’s were found in St. Bernard Parish, LA, Jackson County, SD, Hayes County, NE, Buffalo County, SD, and Keya Paha, NE. All of these counties, except for St. Bernard Parish, contain Indian reservations. 

Income Gap Widens Between America's Richest and Pooret Counties (TRAC)