The United States is the fourth largest country on the planet. From snow-caked Alaska to the “Sunshine State” of Florida, all that space allows for a huge amount of diversity; both in nature and in culture. Something you might not always appreciate is the considerable amount of economic disparity across the states, even when it comes to the top one percent of earners.

The “one percent” concept came into the public awareness during the Occupy movement of 2011, when it was used to express concern over the high concentration of wealth the top one percent of earners held in comparison to the other 99 percent of people.

The Economic Policy Institute looked at income disparity between different states and created this map to show how much money you need to earn to be in the top one percent of earners in each state. Coming in at the top was Connecticut, whose top one percent earns at least $677,608 (£443,500) per year. To enter the one percent in Arkansas, you have to earn a comparatively modest $228,298 (£149,400).

^{Image credit: Economic Policy Institute}

^{Main image credit: Philip Taylor/Flickr. (CC BY-SA 2.0)}

[H/T: Mental Floss]