(NPN) -- If you were worried about how the wealthiest 1 percent of South Dakotans have fared over the past decades and the Great Recession, fear not. They did just fine.

According to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, while income in the state rose nearly 45 percent from 1979 to 2007, most of the gains when to the wealthiest of the wealthy South Dakotans. They reaped just over 37 percent of the 45 percent growth, a 216 percent increase. Meanwhile, the remaining 99 percent of South Dakotans shared in the remaining 8 percent.

Things were a bit more even during the Great Recession between the two groups. From 2009-11, income for the richest 1 percent of South Dakotans increased 9 percent and 8.4 percent for the remaining 99 percent.

Overall, according to EPI, extended from 1979 to 2011, the 1 percenters' income grew nearly 189 percent while the 99 percenters' only grew 27 percent.

Compared to the United States, however, a lower percentage of wealth is held in the hands of the 1 percent than the national average. About 18 percent of the nation's wealth is concentrated in the hands of the 1 percent, whereas in South Dakota, it's about 15 percent of the wealth.

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