Income Inequality History In America
This paper introduces a new long run dataset based on archival data from historical waves of the survey of consumer finances.
Income inequality history in america. Between 1993 and 2015 the average family income grew by 25 7. Steins june 7 2018 abstract. The top 10 percent of american earners took home more than half of all income last year the highest share ever except for 2012. A brief history of income inequality in the u s.
The top 1 of the population received 52 of that growth. The gap between rich and poor is the widest in five states. Income rose from 16 in 1968 to 23 in 2018. And in fact income inequality is now at the highest level the.
Studying the joint distribution of household income and wealth we expose the central importance of portfolio composition and asset prices for wealth dynamics in postwar america. The history of income inequality in the united states in the 1950s and 1960s income distribution in the united states was far more even. The rich got richer through the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. The chart below tracks the average income growths and losses during the 22 years.
Among the top 5 of households those with incomes of at least 248 729 in 2018 their share of all u s. Is at its highest level in more than 50 years according to new census data. In 1968 by comparison the top earning 20 of households brought in 43 of the nation s income while those in the lower four income quintiles accounted for 56. Income inequality in the u s.
The household level data allow us to study the joint distributions. Income and wealth inequality in america 1949 2016 moritz kuhn moritz schularick ulrike i. Income inequality in america is the highest it s been since census bureau started tracking it data shows in the midst of the nation s longest economic expansion the separation between rich and. Income divide has not always been as vast as it is today.
From the beginning of the twentieth century until the present day shows that the nation s level of income inequality is largely affected by. This paper introduces a new long run data set based on archival data from historical waves of the survey of consumer finances. During the 1970s and 1980s however that began to change.