# Wealth Concentration Deepens Geographic and Political Divides in the U.S.

> Wealthy U.S. ZIP codes saw median incomes jump $20,000 between 2014 and 2024, exacerbating an economic concentration that affects political representation across the nation.

By PrimaryBrief newsroom · Published 2026-10-24T12:16:54.947865Z
Canonical: https://primarybrief.com/article/wealth-concentration-deepens-geographic-and-political-divides-in-the-u-s-1b8c2a94

Wealth in the United States is becoming increasingly concentrated in specific geographic areas, with median incomes in wealthy ZIP codes rising by an inflation-adjusted $20,000 between 2014 and 2024 [13]. This significant increase, which doubled the national average, highlights a growing disparity where economic power is heavily clustered, particularly in areas like the Bay Area and Manhattan [13]. This trend deepens existing divides in the American democratic process, impacting voter turnout and the effective representation of diverse communities across the nation [11][1][2].

## The Uneven Accumulation of Wealth

Wealth in the United States is not evenly distributed; it is highly concentrated in metropolitan areas along the East Coast, California, and the Chicago region [12]. Analyses by ZIP code show a direct correlation between geography and economic well-being, with New York City ZIP code 10024 ranking among the wealthiest [13][10]. The disparity extends beyond individual ZIP codes to entire states. Nearly a third of the $26 trillion in total wealth exceeding $30 million per household is held by families in New York and California [15]. Another 18 percent belongs to residents of Texas and Florida, meaning over half of nationwide extreme wealth is concentrated in just four states [15]. The top 10 states account for more than 70% of the nation's extreme wealth, despite housing less than half of the U.S. population [15]. This pattern reveals that inequality is as much a geographical issue as it is a social and economic one [11].

## Wealth and Political Disparity

The concentration of wealth geographically parallels a concentration of political influence and participation. Citizens in the lowest income category had a 48 percent voting participation rate in 2016, compared to 86 percent for those in the highest income category [6]. In midterm elections, 67% of eligible voters with household incomes above $100,000 voted, while only 33% of those earning under $20,000 cast ballots [7]. This gap is also evident between homeowners and renters; 58% of eligible homeowners voted in midterms, contrasted with 37% of eligible renters [7].

This economic inequality translates into a political one. People are 20% less likely to vote in the most unequal states compared to the least unequal states [8]. In highly unequal states, the wealthiest citizens are 24% more likely to vote than the poorest [8]. Voter suppression and bureaucratic hurdles make voting difficult in the United States, disenfranchising millions [9][1]. Minority citizens, young people, and Democrats are much less likely to vote than white citizens, older individuals, and Republicans [3][4]. These groups are also more likely to reside in areas with lower voter turnout, termed

## Evidence cited
1. Two Americas Left in the Wake. (Voting Rights Lab) — https://votingrightslab.org/september-update-the-divide-in-american-democracy-deepens/
2. In the United State some people's votes count more than others. (Stanford Politics) — https://stanfordpolitics.org/2016/11/10/the-electoral-college-and-the-problem-of-unequal-representation/
3. The Geographic Distribution of Political Inequality in the United States: Identifying Turnout Deserts (NIH.gov) — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9177309/
4. The Geographic Distribution of Political Inequality in the United States: Identifying Turnout Deserts (Virginia.edu) — https://www.virginia.edu/news/stories/2022/06/young-people-minorities-and-democrats-are-much-less-likely-vote-and-live-voting-deserts
5. Income Inequality and Voter Turnout in 2016 and 2020: Evidence from US Precinct-Level Data (Swarthmore.edu) — https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/political-science/Butler_Frymer_Income_Inequality_Voter_Turnout_2016_2020.pdf
6. Voter Turnout and Income: What Drives the Relationship? (Econofact.org) — https://econofact.org/voter-turnout-and-income-what-drives-the-relationship
7. New Census Data Show Persistent Gaps in Voter Turnout between Renters and Homeowners, Low-Income and High-Income People (National Low Income Housing Coalition) — https://nlihc.org/news/new-census-data-show-persistent-gaps-voter-turnout-between-renters-and-homeowners-low-income
8. Does Inequality Suppress Voting? (Greater Good Science Center) — https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/does_inequality_suppress_voting
9. How economic and racial inequality subvert U.S. democracy (Washington Center for Equitable Growth) — https://equitablegrowth.org/how-economic-and-racial-inequality-subvert-u-s-democracy/
10. The Geography of Income Inequality (NewGeography.com) — https://www.newgeography.com/content/003900-the-geography-income-inequality
11. Inequality is a geographical issue (Brookings.edu) — https://www.brookings.edu/articles/inequality-is-a-geographical-issue/
12. Mapping Opportunity by ZIP (Medium.com) — https://medium.com/@arialucent/democracy-by-zip-code-two-americas-one-election-a0b1c2d3e4f5
13. Wealthy ZIP codes increased median incomes by an inflation-adjusted $20,000 from 2014 to 2024. The wealthiest areas became more diverse and highly educated. New York City ZIP code 10024 ranks as the wealthiest in this proprietary ranking. (bizjournals.com) — https://bizjournals.com/
14. Mean U.S. income at $110,491 is 40% higher than median income at $78,538 and is nearly $32K more in raw dollars. Mean income is higher than median income because wealth is unevenly distributed to the top 1% and top 10% of the U.S. population. If you had an equal income distribution, median and mean would be the same. This unequal income distribution is ubiquitious across all parts of the U.S. and at all levels, from ZIP code to state. (rowzero.com) — https://rowzero.com/
15. Extreme wealth is highly concentrated geographically. Nearly a third of the $26 trillion in total wealth exceeding $30 million per household is held by families living in just two states: New York and California. Another 18 percent belongs to residents of Texas and Florida. In total, this means that more than half of nationwide extreme wealth is held by the residents of just four states. The top 10 states account for more than 7 in 10 dollars of the nation's extreme wealth. These states are home (itep.org) — https://itep.org/
16. The share of national income, not including transfers, earned in the largest 10 local economies rose from 31.6% in 1980 to 33.5% in 2021. The share of income in the largest 50 local economies rose from 58.7% to 64.5% over the same period. Economic activity has become more concentrated even though some large metros have gained population slowly or even lost population in recent years. ... Geographic inequality has increased over recent decades, and economic activity has become more concentrated i (commerce.gov) — https://commerce.gov/