Nicknamed the “Capital of Latin America”, Miami is one of the most diverse cities in the United States, especially due to the concentration of Hispanics. With an estimated Gini Index of .503, Miami-Dade County has the second highest income inequality in the United States behind New York County, NY (Census, 2012). The overlapping relationship between these two ranking leaders also means they are among the most racially diverse counties in all of North America (Bee, 2012). The purpose of this article is to analyze the income inequality present in Miami-Dade and discuss how racial and ethnic diversity is likely one of the fuels of this form of inequality. With the help of secondary sources, empirical evidence will be translated into this article and will help in the argument. The last section of this article will focus on the functionalist and conflictualist perspectives of the proposed argument and will aim to edify the inequality presented as well as complement the statistics provided. Income Inequality in Miami Dade By examining household income, determining the extent of income inequality within the county is possible. In this context, household income includes wages, social security benefits, interest income, dividends, etc. Compared to the United States, greater income inequality can be observed by looking at the disparity in household income between the mean and median (Miami-Dade County Department of Planning and Zoning, 2007). There are few places in America where the contrast between rich and poor is so stark. In Miami, while the rich cruise around on their yachts and consume $400 bottle service, the poor have to black out their windows because they can't afford air conditioning. Even if they are not dis… at the center of the paper… and ethnic minorities must assimilate into that society (Andersen and Taylor, 2013). Symbolic interactionism examines two issues in relation to race and ethnicity. They first examine the role of social interaction and how it reduces racial and ethnic hostility. Second, they examine how race and ethnicity are socially constructed. Finally, conflict theorists present the thesis that class conflict is an intrinsic and fundamental part of society (Giddens, 1996). Thus, the argument would be that racial and ethnic conflict is linked to class conflict and that to reduce racial and ethnic conflict, class conflict must first be reduced. For the sake of this study and discussion, I will continue to focus on the perspectives of conflict theorists and functionalism because I believe they provide the most modern and insightful perspectives on this current form of inequality..