The chart above shows the number of billionaires per 100,000 square miles (258,999 square kilometers) in each US region. The Northeast has many multiples the number of billionaires of any other region and is the only region with more than two billionaires for every 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers).
Findings
- The difference between the region with the highest billionaire density, the Northeast, and the region with the lowest, the Midwest, is 80.50 billionaires per 100,000 square miles.
- The Northeast has 11.50 times the billionaires per area that the Midwest 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.
- The Northeastern US consists of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
- The Southern US consists of Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
- The Western US consists of California, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming.
- The Midwestern US consists of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Details
Only the Northeast has nearly nine billionaires for every 10,000 square miles. No other region comes close with the South coming closest with just over one-and-a-half billionaire for every 10,000 square miles.
The Northeast is the only region to rank in the top two in total billionaires, billionaires per capita, and billionaire density. The Midwest comes in last in all three metrics.
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.