The United States has long been known as the richest and most powerful country in the world, with its $14-trillion economy, fat paychecks and research universities studded with Nobel Prize winners.

But not all parts of the country are equal. While some investment bankers and traders in Manhattan's Upper East Side rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, farmworkers in the Central Valley toil in the heat and dust making minimum wage -- oftentimes with no benefits.

A nationwide study released earlier this month put the San Joaquin Valley's 20th Congressional District dead last in quality of life, according to life expectancy, education and income. The district includes portions of Fresno and Kern counties, as well as all of Kings County.

"There's a lot of uneducated people here," said Sandra Guillen, 30, a respiratory therapist from Hanford. "What do you expect in a place where you're taught to work first and then go to college later?"

The study, "The Measure of America," which is published by Columbia University Press, provides a measure for the well-being of all Americans based on education, income and life expectancy. The figures, which come from U.S. government sources, are computed for each of the nation's 436 congressional districts. The districts are then ranked. The Valley's 20th District is last, but just a three-hour drive away is the fifth-ranked West Los Angeles' 30th District -- from the Malibu coastline to Beverly Hills and West Hollywood -- a star-studded area that is home to entertainment industry brokers and producers.

Only 6.5 percent of residents in the 20th District have a bachelor's degree, the study reported. By comparison, 56.8 percent of West Los Angeles residents have a bachelor's.

The median annual income -- for those holding part-time or full-time jobs -- in the Valley's 20th District is $16,767, the lowest in the nation. By comparison, residents of Manhattan's Upper East Side, which is part of New York's first-ranked 14th District, earn the highest income in the nation at $51,139 a year. Their residents live on average 4 1/2 years longer than residents in the Valley district, the study reported.

"Some inequality is fine for motivating people to achieve," said Sarah Burd-Sharps, a co-author of the study and former deputy director of the human development report office of the United Nations Development Program. "But extremes of inequality are not good for those at the bottom and very bad for our society as a whole. It's demotivating and can breed despair and bitterness."

She added many of the Valley's 20th District's residents have limited futures.

"Thousands of people have limited opportunities and choices," she said. "They aren't able to be productive citizens and reach their full potential."

Kings County's limits are obvious to Sylvia Contreras, 16, a local-area high school student. Most of her friends, who are her age, work for near minimum wage in restaurants or markets.

"Sometimes we want to go to the movies but we can't because there's not enough money," she said.

She knows many "bright" straight-A students who won't be able to attend four-year universities.

"It doesn't mean that they're less motivated," she says of her friends who will instead attend junior colleges. "I just don't see their parents giving out $40,000 or whatever it costs for their children to attend universities."

But those friends hope to one day attend the Ivy Leagues, Stanford or University of California campuses and earn a master's degree.

Such hopes come in spite of their parents who often work in the prisons or farms dotting Kings County. Most of their parents only have a high school education or less.

Income and education aren't the only problems. Neither Contreras nor her parents have health insurance. Her father is self-employed, and her mother works for a food company. For her parents, Contreras says private medical insurance is prohibitively expensive, and they make too much to qualify for MediCal. They're the unlucky few stuck in the middle.

"We can't buy anything," Contreras said. "As a result, we don't just go to the doctor."

But some residents disagree with parts of the study, saying Kings County offers a good life.

Incomes may be low in Kings County, they say, but you don't need much to live off of compared with, say, Manhattan, Silicon Valley or West Los Angeles, areas that the study ranks in the top 10.

But Burd-Sharps notes that even though residents in Manhattan's Upper East Side make roughly three times more than those in the Valley's 20th District, the cost of living difference is less than three times apart.

Low-income isn't the only reason why most Kings County residents don't have a bachelor's degree. Some note the lack of educational institutions in Kings County, explaining its low college graduation rates. There are no four-year universities in the county, and there are only two junior colleges, both of which are satellite campuses. By comparison, Manhattan is home to Columbia University, Silicon Valley has Stanford, and West Los Angeles has UCLA.

"There's not enough schools to do more training, which you need to get a higher paying job," said Richard Bryant, 33, an electrical splicer from Hanford. "There's not a lot of opportunity. Kings County is mainly agricultural land."

A few hours' drive away, however, are arguably the world's best public universities. But many of Kings County's residents don't take advantage of them.

"While California has excellent public colleges, if you're earning $16,000 a year, you won't likely be able to afford a public college education," Burd-Sharps said.

Some mention that the study doesn't say everything about Kings County's lifestyle.

"We're near Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park," said John Whyte, 49, a maintenance officer from Lemoore.

Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego regions have many of the top-ranked districts and many of the amenities that attract the rich and educated -- top-ranked hospitals, famous universities, high-paying jobs, four-star restaurants and worldly museums.

But Whyte says he doesn't like big cities. He prefers the quiet and peaceful life in Kings County.

Having peace, however, has a drawback. Most of those interviewed said Kings County lacks job opportunities.

"The best jobs are in the prisons," said Alex Torres, 23, a substance abuse counselor from Avenal.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2423.

(July 29, 2008)