The gap between the haves and the have-nots is larger in the Washington area than almost anywhere else in the country — a creeping trend that experts warn could have far-reaching socio-economic consequences. The top wage earners in the District made nearly 5.5 times more than those on the low end of the wage scale, for the second-largest gap between rich and poor in the country, behind only New Jersey, according to the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, a Richmond-based think tank.

The gap between rich and poor in Virginia is the third-widest in the country at 5.22 percent. The gap in Maryland is the seventh-largest at 5.02 percent.