State-by-state growth in income inequality

Income inequality is often measured by the Gini index, named for Italian statistician Corrado Gini, who developed it in 1912. It measures income distribution on a scale of zero to one, with zero meaning everyone has the same income and one indicating that a single person has all the income. The higher the number, the greater the amount of income inequality.

Here's a state-by-state look at the Gini rating measurements by household in 1979 compared with 2012, the latest year for which figures are available from the U.S. Census Bureau. The "increase" column represents the percentage increase in income inequality.

STATE 1979 2012INCREASE

Alabama 0.427 0.47310.8 percent

Alaska 0.393 0.4237.6 percent

Arizona 0.399 0.46115.5 percent

Arkansas 0.428 0.4638.2 percent

California 0.408 0.48218.1 percent

Colorado 0.392 0.45816.8 percent

Connecticut 0.390 0.49226.2 percent

Delaware 0.396 0.43610.1 percent

District of Columbia0.450 0.53418.7 percent

Florida 0.421 0.48314.7 percent

Georgia 0.421 0.48114.3 percent

Hawaii 0.390 0.4269.2 percent

Idaho 0.390 0.430 10.3 percent

Illinois 0.396 0.47219.2 percent

Indiana 0.379 0.44216.6 percent

Iowa 0.390 0.43311.0 percent

Kansas 0.399 0.450 12.8 percent

Kentucky 0.420 0.46711.2 percent

Louisiana 0.438 0.48611.0 percent

Maine 0.382 0.44516.5 percent

Maryland 0.385 0.44716.1 percent

Massachusetts 0.398 0.48120.9 percent

Michigan 0.389 0.46218.8 percent

Minnesota 0.391 0.44413.6 percent

Mississippi 0.440 0.48710.7 percent

Missouri 0.408 0.46113.0 percent

Montana 0.395 0.450 13.9 percent

Nebraska 0.396 0.4349.6 percent

Nevada 0.387 0.45216.8 percent

New Hampshire0.372 0.430 15.6 percent

New Jersey 0.393 0.47220.1 percent

New Mexico 0.415 0.47113.5 percent

New York 0.419 0.50119.6 percent

North Carolina 0.403 0.46916.4 percent

North Dakota 0.397 0.460 15.9 percent

Ohio 0.385 0.46220.0 percent

Oklahoma 0.419 0.46410.7 percent

Oregon 0.394 0.45716.0 percent

Pennsylvania 0.391 0.46418.7 percent

Rhode Island 0.397 0.46517.1 percent

South Carolina 0.406 0.46815.3 percent

South Dakota 0.409 0.4346.1 percent

Tennessee 0.418 0.47313.2 percent

Texas 0.415 0.47714.9 percent

Utah 0.371 0.42414.3 percent

Vermont 0.386 0.43913.7 percent

Virginia 0.399 0.46616.8 percent

Washington 0.388 0.450 16.0 percent

West Virginia 0.406 0.46414.3 percent

Wisconsin 0.381 0.440 15.5 percent

Wyoming 0.372 0.41712.1 percent

United States 0.415 0.47614.7 percent