Income Inequality By Year

Absolute inequality measures capture increases in absolute rather than relative differences between people s incomes.

Income inequality by year. Income inequality in the united states is the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among the american population. Here s the story of income inequality in america over the past 40 years. If the average income of the top 10 is 100 000 and the average income of the bottom 10 is 10 000 then the absolute difference between the groups is 90 000. The inequality expansion last year took place at the same time median household income nationwide increased to almost 62 000 last year the highest ever measured by the american community survey.

Those qualifying as low income families earn 28 700 a year. Those qualifying as low income families earn 28 700 a year. Income inequality facts show that 41 4 of people living in america today are classified as low income or poor families. Each year the census bureau updates its income inequality statistics in the income and poverty in the united states p 60 report.

Detailed historical tables showing selected measures of household income dispersion are included in the appendix of this report.