Graph and download economic data for Net Worth Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLT01026) from Q3 1989 to Q1 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

In 2023, just over 50 percent of Americans had an annual household income that was less than 75,000 U.S. dollars. The median household income was 80,610 U.S. dollars in 2023. Income and wealth in the United States After the economic recession in 2009, income inequality in the U.S. is more prominent across many metropolitan areas. The Northeast region is regarded as one of the wealthiest in the country. Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts were among the states with the highest median household income in 2020. In terms of income by race and ethnicity, the average income of Asian households was 94,903 U.S. dollars in 2020, while the median income for Black households was around half of that figure. What is the U.S. poverty threshold? The U.S. Census Bureau annually updates its list of poverty levels. Preliminary estimates show that the average poverty threshold for a family of four people was 26,500 U.S. dollars in 2021, which is around 100 U.S. dollars less than the previous year. There were an estimated 37.9 million people in poverty across the United States in 2021, which was around 11.6 percent of the population. Approximately 19.5 percent of those in poverty were Black, while 8.2 percent were white.

Graph and download economic data for Minimum Wealth Cutoff for the Top 0.1% (99.9th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLTP1311) from Q3 1989 to Q3 2022 about wealth, percentile, and USA.

In 2023, roughly 1.49 billion adults worldwide had a net worth of less than 10,000 U.S. dollars. By comparison, 58 million adults had a net worth of more than one million U.S. dollars in the same year. Wealth distribution The distribution of wealth is an indicator of economic inequality. The United Nations says that wealth includes the sum of natural, human, and physical assets. Wealth is not synonymous with income, however, because having a large income can be depleted if one has significant expenses. In 2023, nearly 1,700 billionaires had a total wealth between one to two billion U.S. dollars. Wealth worldwide China had the highest number of billionaires in 2023, with the United States following behind. That same year, New York had the most billionaires worldwide.

In 2023, by far the highest number of individuals with net assets of at least ** million U.S. dollars worldwide were residing in North America, reaching over ******* people. Asia recorded the second highest number of UHNWIs in the world with over ******* individuals.A small share owns vast sums of wealthThe vast majority of global wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few people. Only *** percent of the global population owns assets worth more than *** million U.S. dollars. The richest people in the world are Elon Mask, Jeff Bezos, and Bernard Arnault. When it comes to women, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers led the ranking of the most affluent women worldwide. The wealth of over ** percent of UHNWIs was self-made. Where UHNWIs live and where they leave Unsurprisingly, as North America is the world region with the highest number of UHNWIs, the United States is the country with the highest UHNWI count. However, Hong Kong, special administrative (SAR) region in China, is the city with the highest number of UHNWIs. Nevertheless, China was the country that recorded the highest outflux of UHNWIs in 2022.

As of April 2025, Elon Musk was estimated as the wealthiest person in the United States with a net worth of around 342 billion dollars. Richest people in the United States - additional information Every year since 1982, the American business magazine Forbes has been compiling lists of the 400 richest people in the United States, known as the “Forbes 400.” In addition to that, since 1987, the publication has also been compiling a ranking of the 500 richest people in the world (excluding royalty and dictators), as well as more specialized tops, such as “World's Most Powerful Women,” “America's Richest Families,” “Most Valuable Brands” or “30 Under 30,” which focuses on young entrepreneurs from various fields which have gained millions in the past year by the use of social media, technical innovations and generally new and fresh approaches to business.

In 2022, about 14.88 million households in the United States had an income of 200,000 U.S. dollars or more a year. Another 20.77 million households however, had an income of less than 25,000 U.S. dollars in the same year, The total number of households in the U.S. since 1960 can be found here.

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Personal Income in the United States (MEPAINUSA672N) from 1974 to 2023 about personal income, personal, median, income, real, and USA.

As of 2019, ** percent of millionaires in the United States had a net worth of between *********** and ********************** U.S. dollars. On the other end of the scale, **** percent of millionaires had a net worth of over *** million U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Unit Characteristics: At Least One Vehicle Owned or Leased by Quintiles of Income Before Taxes: Highest 20 Percent (81st to 100th Percentile) (CXU980350LB0106M) from 1984 to 2023 about owned, consumer unit, leases, percentile, tax, vehicles, percent, income, and USA.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents the mean household income for each of the five quintiles in Cobb County, GA, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The dataset highlights the variation in mean household income across quintiles, offering valuable insights into income distribution and inequality.

Key observations

• Income disparities: The mean income of the lowest quintile (20% of households with the lowest income) is 25,092, while the mean income for the highest quintile (20% of households with the highest income) is 321,280. This indicates that the top earners earn 13 times compared to the lowest earners.
• *Top 5%: * The mean household income for the wealthiest population (top 5%) is 550,402, which is 171.32% higher compared to the highest quintile, and 2193.54% higher compared to the lowest quintile.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Income Levels:

• Lowest Quintile
• Second Quintile
• Third Quintile
• Fourth Quintile
• Highest Quintile
• Top 5 Percent

Variables / Data Columns

• Income Level: This column showcases the income levels (As mentioned above).
• Mean Household Income: Mean household income, in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars for the specific income level.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Cobb County median household income. You can refer the same here

Key information about United States Monthly Earnings

• United States Monthly Earnings stood at 4,901 USD in Feb 2025, compared with the previous figure of 4,887 USD in Jan 2025
• US Monthly Earnings data is updated monthly, available from Mar 2006 to Feb 2025, with an average number of 3,469 USD
• The data reached the an all-time high of 4,901 USD in Feb 2025 and a record low of 2,743 USD in Mar 2006

• In the latest reports, US Population reached 341 million people in Dec 2024
• Unemployment Rate of US increased to 4 % in Feb 2025
• The country's Labour Force Participation Rate remained the same rate at 62 % in Feb 2025

Years represent the tax years .Starting with 1985, tax bracket boundaries were indexed for inflation, using the U.S. Department of Labor Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPS-U).

As stated by the source, tax rates shown are for the regular income tax, i.e., for normal tax and surtax, applicable to U.S. citizens and residents. Therefore, the rates exclude provisions unique to nonresident aliens. Tax rates exclude the effect of tax credits (which reduce the tax liability), except as noted, and several specific add-on or other taxes applicable to all or some tax years. Excluded are the war excess profits tax (1917), victory tax (1942-1943), Social Security self-employment tax (starting with 1951), tax under the income averaging provisions (1964-1986) and under the farm income averaging provisions (starting with 1998), and the recapture taxes resulting from having to recompute and pay back certain tax credits in later years (starting with 1963), the maximum tax on earned income or on personal service income (1971-1981), the minimum tax on tax preferences (1970-1983), and the alternative minimum tax on tax preferences (starting with 1979).

Also excluded are such other taxes as the tax on recipients of accumulation distributions of trusts (starting with 1954) and the special averaging tax or multiple recipient special averaging tax on recipients of lump-sum distributions from qualified retirement plans (starting with 1974). In addition, data excludes the taxes associated with the preferential treatment of capital gains, starting with 1922 (although certain gains received preferential treatment as early as 1918). At various times, these treatments have taken the form of special tax rates; special definitions; different asset holding periods; ceilings on taxes; and exclusions from income. Included among these special treatments were alternative tax (1938-1986) and its variations for the earlier years, although all of these taxes were in some way tied to a structure for regular tax.

Until 1948, a single set of tax rates applied to all taxpayers, regardless of marital or filing status, and married couples filing joint returns were taxed on the combined income of each spouse. However, a second, lower set of rates was introduced, starting with 1948, for married couples filing jointly. To simplify the data presentation for these more recent years, only the lowest and highest tax rates for married persons filing jointly are shown. Under this change, the combined tax of husband and wife became twice the combined tax that would have applied if their combined taxable income (net income for years before 1954) were cut in half. Thus, taxpayers using the joint return filing status split their incomes for tax purposes, in effect doubling the width of their taxable income (or net income) size brackets. The lowest and highest tax rate brackets are, therefore, the brackets for married couples filing jointly that result from taking into account this doubling of the bracket widths. Starting with 1952, a third set of rates was introduced (not shown) for heads of household, i.e., for unmarried individuals who paid over half the cost of maintaining a home for a qualifying person (e.g., a child or parent), or for certain married individuals who had lived apart from their spouses for the last 6 months of the tax year. This filing status was liberalized, starting with 1970, and provides approximately half the advantage of the income-splitting described above. Starting with 1954, the full benefits of income-splitting allowed married couples filing jointly (i.e., the same tax rates and taxable income brackets) were extended to a new, fourth filing status, surviving spouse (i.e., individuals widowed for 1 to 2 years following the death of a spouse, provided they had a dependent child and had not remarried). The remaining filing status was for single persons, who used the rates formerly applicable to taxpayers in general. However, these latter rates were moderated, starting with 1969, by limiting the tax so that it would not exceed 20 percent more than the tax on married couples filing jointly. One result of the 1969 law change was that certain married couples filing jointly had to pay more tax than they would have paid if each spouse had filed separately. To help mitigate this effect, a special deduction in computing adjusted gross income was allowed for 1982-1986 for two-earner couples filing jointly. This deduction was initially 5 percent of the lesser of $30,000 or the earned income of the spouse with the lesser earnings. The percentage was increased to 10 percent, starting with 1983. The deduction provision was repealed, starting with 1987, when new, lower rates and a reduced number of tax brackets began. For tax years preceding 1954, the lowest tax rate was either the rate for the basic normal tax (if there was just one rate for normal tax) or the lowest of the several rates for normal tax (if there was more than one rate for normal tax). The highest tax rate was the sum of the uppermost of the graduated rates (if any) for normal tax, plus the uppermost of the additional, graduated surtax rates, provided that both rates were applied to the same income. For example, for 1932, there were two graduated rates for normal tax, 4 percent (on the first $4,000 of income) and 8 percent (on all income over $4,000), and graduated rates for surtax that ranged from 1 percent to 55 percent. The lowest rate for 1932 is, therefore, shown as 4 percent (the lower of the two normal tax rates) and the highest rate as 63 percent (the sum of the 8-percent higher, graduated rate for normal tax on income over $4,000, plus 55 percent, the highest of the graduated, surtax rates, on income over $1 million.). As another example, for 1941, there was just one rate for normal tax, 4 percent, but it applied to all income. The lowest of the surtax rates, 6 percent, was applied to all income under $2,000, so that income under $2,000 was taxed at both the 4-percent normal tax rate and the 6-percent surtax rate. Therefore, the lowest rate for 1941 is 10 percent, the sum of these two tax rates. The highest rate is the sum of the 4-percent normal tax on total statutory net income, plus the highest graduated surtax rate, 77 percent on income over $5 million, so that income over $5 million was taxed at 81.0 percent, the sum of the two rates.

For tax years starting with 1954, normal tax and surtax rates were, in effect, combined into a single rate structure.

For more information on the specific adjustments, see Appendix to Selected Historical and Other Data Tables at https://www.irs.gov/uac/soi-tax-stats-historical-table-23

In 2021, the per capita income in San Francisco city was at 80,383 U.S. dollars. San Francisco was followed in this regard by Seattle and Washington, D.C. The most populated cities in the U.S. are ranked by per capita income in this statistic. While New York, New York had the highest population, San Francisco had the highest per capita income in 2021. The median household income in San Francisco in 2020 was 119,136 dollars, the highest among the most populated cities in the United States.

In 2023, public housing residents in Alaska, Arkansas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands had the highest household incomes compared to their respective local median incomes in the United States. In these areas, the average public housing household incomes constituted at least 32 percent of the local median income. In contrast, states like Maryland, Ohio, Washington, Guam, and the District of Columbia exhibited the lowest proportions, where households housed in social housing earned less than 20 percent of the local median income.

About 50.4 percent of the household income of private households in the U.S. were earned by the highest quintile in 2023, which are the upper 20 percent of the workers. In contrast to that, in the same year, only 3.5 percent of the household income was earned by the lowest quintile. This relation between the quintiles is indicative of the level of income inequality in the United States. Income inequalityIncome inequality is a big topic for public discussion in the United States. About 65 percent of U.S. Americans think that the gap between the rich and the poor has gotten larger in the past ten years. This impression is backed up by U.S. census data showing that the Gini-coefficient for income distribution in the United States has been increasing constantly over the past decades for individuals and households. The Gini coefficient for individual earnings of full-time, year round workers has increased between 1990 and 2020 from 0.36 to 0.42, for example. This indicates an increase in concentration of income. In general, the Gini coefficient is calculated by looking at average income rates. A score of zero would reflect perfect income equality and a score of one indicates a society where one person would have all the money and all other people have nothing. Income distribution is also affected by region. The state of New York had the widest gap between rich and poor people in the United States, with a Gini coefficient of 0.51, as of 2019. In global comparison, South Africa led the ranking of the 20 countries with the biggest inequality in income distribution in 2018. South Africa had a score of 63 points, based on the Gini coefficient. On the other hand, the Gini coefficient stood at 16.6 in Azerbaijan, indicating that income is widely spread among the population and not concentrated on a few rich individuals or families. Slovenia led the ranking of the 20 countries with the greatest income distribution equality in 2018.

In 2023, the real median household income for householders aged 15 to 24 was at 54,930 U.S. dollars. The highest median household income was found amongst those aged between 45 and 54. Household median income for the United States since 1990 can be accessed here.

In 2023, the real median household income in the state of Alabama was 60,660 U.S. dollars. The state with the highest median household income was Massachusetts, which was 106,500 U.S. dollars in 2023. The average median household income in the United States was at 80,610 U.S. dollars.

In 2023, ******* individuals with net assets of at least ** million U.S. dollars were residing in the *************, by far the highest number of any country. By comparison, *****, which had the second highest number of ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), had less than 100,000 individuals with assets amounting to ** million U.S. dollars or more.Place of residence of ultra high net worth individuals The residency of almost half of the world’s ultra high net worth individuals in the United States explains the dominance of North America in regard to the number of ultra high net worth individuals by region. Hong Kong was the city with the most UHNWIs in 2022, followed by New York, London, and Los Angeles. Source of wealth and gender differences A majority of the world's UHNWIs are self-made. However, looking at billionaires, there is a clear difference between men and women; whereas a majority of billionaire men were self-made, a majority of the women had inherited their fortune.