South Dakota Has Nation’s Smallest Wage Gap between Middle and Upper Classes

One nice thing about living in a place where there aren't millionaires on every corner is the lack of a huge disparity between the middle class and the upper crust.

According to a report in the Orange County Register, the gap between the wealthiest South Dakotans and those in the middle is the smallest in the nation.

The numbers show that the top end earners in the Mount Rushmore State bring in 45.1 percent more than the middle class. That ranks ahead of North Dakota (45.2%) and Vermont (50%) for the smallest margin.

On the other end of the spectrum, it's no surprise that California has the largest disparity between the top and the middle - a whopping 72 percent! New York (68.1 %) and Virginia (67.7%) were right behind California on the list.

South Dakota's lack of a sizeable gap stems in large part to a lower than average median income for the state's upper class. The Mount Rushmore State's $48,550 for top earners is second only to Mississippi ($47,550) at the bottom of the scale.

The highest pay nationwide at employment’s upper crust was in Massachusetts at $78,870.