The chart above shows the number of billionaires per 100,000 square miles (258,999 square kilometers) in each US state. Connecticut is the only state where there are three billionaires for every 1,000 square miles (2,590 square kilometers).
Findings
- The difference between the state with the highest billionaire density, Connecticut, and the state with the lowest (that has billionaires), Utah, is 305.49 billionaires per 100,000 square miles.
- Connecticut has 260.35 times the billionaires per area that Utah does.
- Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Vermont do not have a single billionaire.
Caveats
- Data is from 2018.
- Rates are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
Details
The top five states are all from the Northeast. The highest ranked states in the other region are California (West) at sixth, Florida (South) at seventh, and Illinois (Midwest) at ninth. Only five states (Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey), all of which are from the Northeast, have more than one billionaire for every 1,000 square miles. Twenty states have more than one billionaire for every 10,000 square miles.
Connecticut and New York are the only two states to rank in the top five in total billionaires, billionaires per capita, and billionaire density. Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, California, and Florida are the only five states to rank in the top ten in all three metrics. Connecticut, which ranks first in this metric, ranks fifth in total billionaires and third in billionaires per capita. Wyoming, which ranked highest in billionaires per capita, ranks 28th in this metric and 19th in total billionaires. California, which ranks first in total billionaires, ranks sixth in this metric and sixth in per capita billionaires.
Sources
Forbes. 2018. "The World's Billionaires List." Accessed October 2, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/21/#version:static.
United States Census Bureau. September 2012. "United States Summary: 2010: Population and Housing Unit Counts." Accessed January 23, 2018. https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf.