It's widely known that income inequality has grown rapidly in recent decades. As it stands in the U.S., an average member of the top 1 percent of earners makes 25 times more money than an average member of the remaining 99 percent. But this is just a national figure; across the country, the ratio ranges from 5 all the way up to 233. What might be more surprising is precisely where income inequality hits those peaks. Yes, a lot of inequality is where you'd expect it: in big cities along the coasts. But there is also a more hidden inequality in America, deep pockets of extreme income gaps in a place where it might not be expected: rural America. The data comes from the Economic Policy Institute, which last week put out a report calculating income inequality county-by-county. Almost all similar studies have looked only at major metropolitan areas. This rural inequality seems to come in two forms. One, which I'll call "home-grown" inequality, is where the local industries create large income disparities. The other, which I'll call "flown-in" inequality, is where rich people who made their income elsewhere take up residence.