New York was the state with the greatest gap between rich and poor, with a Gini coefficient score of 0.52 in 2023. Although not a state, District of Columbia was among the highest Gini coefficients in the United States that year.

In the first quarter of 2025, almost two-thirds percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest 50 percent of earners only owned 2.5 percent of the total wealth. Income inequality in the U.S. Despite the idea that the United States is a country where hard work and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps will inevitably lead to success, this is often not the case. In 2023, 7.4 percent of U.S. households had an annual income under 15,000 U.S. dollars. With such a small percentage of people in the United States owning such a vast majority of the country’s wealth, the gap between the rich and poor in America remains stark. The top one percent The United States was the country with the most billionaires in the world in 2025. Elon Musk, with a net worth of 342 billion U.S. dollars, was among the richest people in the United States in 2025. Over the past 50 years, the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio has exploded, causing the gap between rich and poor to grow, with some economists theorizing that this gap is the largest it has been since right before the Great Depression.

This map shows households within high ($200,000 or more) and low (less than $25,000) annual income ranges. This is shown as a percentage of total households. The data is attached to tract, county, and state centroids and shows:Percent of households making less than $25,000 annuallyPercent of households making $200,000 or more annuallyThe data shown is household income in the past 12 months. These are the American Community Survey (ACS) most current 5-year estimates: Table B19001. The data layer is updated annually, so this map always shows the most current values from the U.S. Census Bureau. To find the layer used in this map and see the full metadata, visit this Living Atlas item.These categories were constructed using an Arcade expression, which groups the lowest census income categories and normalizes them by total households.

This table contains data on income inequality. The primary measure is the Gini index – a measure of the extent to which the distribution of income among families/households within a community deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. The index ranges from 0.0, when all families (households) have equal shares of income (implies perfect equality), to 1.0 when one family (household) has all the income and the rest have none (implies perfect inequality). Index data is provided for California and its counties, regions, and large cities/towns. The data is from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. The table is part of a series of indicators in the Healthy Communities Data and Indicators Project of the Office of Health Equity. Income is linked to acquiring resources for healthy living. Both household income and the distribution of income across a society independently contribute to the overall health status of a community. On average Western industrialized nations with large disparities in income distribution tend to have poorer health status than similarly advanced nations with a more equitable distribution of income. Approximately 119,200 (5%) of the 2.4 million U.S. deaths in 2000 are attributable to income inequality. The pathways by which income inequality act to increase adverse health outcomes are not known with certainty, but policies that provide for a strong safety net of health and social services have been identified as potential buffers. More information about the data table and a data dictionary can be found in the About/Attachments section.

While most Americans appear to acknowledge the large gap between the rich and the poor in the U.S., it is not clear if the public is aware of recent changes in income inequality. Even though economic inequality has grown substantially in recent decades, studies have shown that the public's perception of growing income disparities has remained mostly unchanged since the 1980s. This research offers an alternative approach to evaluating how public perceptions of inequality are developed. Centrally, it conceptualizes the public's response to growing economic disparities by applying theories of macro-political behavior and place-based contextual effects to the formation of aggregate perceptions about income inequality. It is argued that most of the public relies on basic information about the economy to form attitudes about inequality and that geographic context---in this case, the American states---plays a role in how views of income disparities are produced. A new measure of state perceptions of growing economic inequality over a 25-year period is used to examine whether the public is responsive to objective changes in economic inequality. Time-series cross-sectional analyses suggest that the public's perceptions of growing inequality are largely influenced by objective state economic indicators and state political ideology. This research has implications for how knowledgeable the public is of disparities between the rich and the poor, whether state context influences attitudes about inequality, and what role the public will have in determining how expanding income differences are addressed through government policy.

Graph and download economic data for Income Inequality in Nassau County, NY (2020RATIO036059) from 2010 to 2023 about Nassau County, NY; inequality; New York; NY; income; and USA.

Income InequalityThe level of income inequality among households in a county can be measured using the Gini index. A Gini index varies between zero and one. A value of one indicates perfect inequality, where only one household in the county has any income. A value of zero indicates perfect equality, where all households in the county have equal income.The United States, as a country, has a Gini Index of 0.47 for this time period. For comparision in this map, the purple counties have greater income inequality, while orange counties have less inequality of incomes. For reference, Brazil has an index of 0.58 (relatively high inequality) and Denmark has an index of 0.24 (relatively low inequality).The 5-year Gini index for the U.S. was 0.4695 in 2007-2011 and 0.467 in 2006-2010. Appalachian Regional Commission, September 2013Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, 5-Year American Community Survey, 2006-2010 & 2007-2011

In 2023, according to the Gini coefficient, household income distribution in the United States was 0.47. This figure was at 0.43 in 1990, which indicates an increase in income inequality in the U.S. over the past 30 years. What is the Gini coefficient? The Gini coefficient, or Gini index, is a statistical measure of economic inequality and wealth distribution among a population. A value of zero represents perfect economic equality, and a value of one represents perfect economic inequality. The Gini coefficient helps to visualize income inequality in a more digestible way. For example, according to the Gini coefficient, the District of Columbia and the state of New York have the greatest amount of income inequality in the U.S. with a score of 0.51, and Utah has the greatest income equality with a score of 0.43. The Gini coefficient around the world The Gini coefficient is also an effective measure to help picture income inequality around the world. For example, in 2018 income inequality was highest in South Africa, while income inequality was lowest in Slovenia.

United States US: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 15.500 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 17.000 % for 2020. United States US: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 17.700 % from Dec 1963 (Median) to 2021, with 59 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.000 % in 1993 and a record low of 15.500 % in 2021. United States US: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Income Inequality in Westchester County, NY was 25.51079 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Westchester County, NY reached a record high of 25.51079 in January of 2023 and a record low of 21.21995 in January of 2010. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Westchester County, NY - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for GINI Index for the United States (SIPOVGINIUSA) from 1963 to 2023 about gini, indexes, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Income Inequality in Orange County, CA (2020RATIO006059) from 2010 to 2023 about Orange County, CA; inequality; Los Angeles; CA; income; and USA.

Income Inequality in Lake County, IN was 15.56681 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Lake County, IN reached a record high of 15.56681 in January of 2023 and a record low of 13.13563 in January of 2010. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Lake County, IN - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

The rapid increase of wealth inequality in the past few decades is one of the most disturbing social and economic issues of our time. Studying its origin and underlying mechanisms is essential for policy aiming to control and even reverse this trend. In that context, controlling the distribution of income, using income tax or other macroeconomic policy instruments, is generally perceived as effective for regulating the wealth distribution. We provide a theoretical tool, based on the realistic modeling of wealth inequality dynamics, to describe the effects of personal savings and income distribution on wealth inequality. Our theoretical approach incorporates coupled equations, solved using iterated maps to model the dynamics of wealth and income inequality. Notably, using the appropriate historical parameter values we were able to capture the historical dynamics of wealth inequality in the United States during the course of the 20th century. It is found that the effect of personal savings on wealth inequality is substantial, and its major decrease in the past 30 years can be associated with the current wealth inequality surge. In addition, the effect of increasing income tax, though naturally contributing to lowering income inequality, might contribute to a mild increase in wealth inequality and vice versa. Plausible changes in income tax are found to have an insignificant effect on wealth inequality, in practice. In addition, controlling the income inequality, by progressive taxation, for example, is found to have a very small effect on wealth inequality in the short run. The results imply, therefore, that controlling income inequality is an impractical tool for regulating wealth inequality.

Income Inequality in Jefferson Parish, LA was 17.14348 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Jefferson Parish, LA reached a record high of 17.14348 in January of 2023 and a record low of 13.72062 in January of 2010. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Jefferson Parish, LA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

Income Inequality in Denver County, CO was 17.97779 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Denver County, CO reached a record high of 20.23338 in January of 2010 and a record low of 17.13318 in January of 2021. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Denver County, CO - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

Income Inequality in Sacramento County, CA was 14.19395 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Sacramento County, CA reached a record high of 15.11999 in January of 2016 and a record low of 12.04339 in January of 2010. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Sacramento County, CA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

IntroductionEducation level is positively associated with adult health in the United States. However, new research shows that the association is stronger in some U.S. states than others, and that states with stronger associations also tend to have poorer overall levels of health. Understanding why educational disparities in health are larger in some states than others can advance knowledge of the major drivers of these disparities, between individuals and states. To that end, this study examined how key mechanisms (economic conditions, health behaviors, family, healthcare) help explain the education-health association in each state and whether they do so systematically.MethodsUsing data on over 1.7 million adults ages 25–64 in the 2011–2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we estimated the association between education level and self-rated health in each state, net of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and calendar year. We then estimated the contribution of economic, behavioral, family, and healthcare mechanisms to the association in each state.ResultsThe strength of the education-health association differed markedly across states and was strongest in the Midwest and South. Collectively, the mechanisms accounted for most of the association in all states, from 55% of it in North Dakota to 73% in Oklahoma. Economic (employment, income) and behavioral (smoking, obesity) mechanisms were key, but their contribution to the association differed systematically across states. In states with stronger education-health associations, economic conditions were the dominant mechanism linking education to health, but in states with weaker associations, the contribution of economic mechanisms waned and that of behavioral mechanisms rose.DiscussionMeaningful reductions in educational disparities in health, and overall improvements in health, may come from prioritizing access to employment and livable income among adults without a 4-year college degree, particularly in Southern and Midwestern states.

Income Inequality in Houston County, TX was 16.77006 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Houston County, TX reached a record high of 18.45929 in January of 2012 and a record low of 12.61633 in January of 2019. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Houston County, TX - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

Income Inequality in Walton County, FL was 17.25450 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Walton County, FL reached a record high of 17.25450 in January of 2023 and a record low of 14.20387 in January of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Walton County, FL - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.