The average for 2021 based on 71 countries was 27.53 percent. The highest value was in Colombia: 43.7 percent and the lowest value was in Slovakia: 19.1 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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 Income Before Taxes: Wages and Salaries by Deciles of Income Before Taxes: Lowest 10 Percent (1st to 10th Percentile) (CXU900000LB1502M) from 2014 to 2023 about percentile, salaries, tax, wages, income, and USA.

Norway: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2019 is 22.4 percent, an increase from 22.2 percent in 2018. In comparison, the world average is 27.07 percent, based on data from 75 countries. Historically, the average for Norway from 1979 to 2019 is 22.12 percent. The minimum value, 20.2 percent, was reached in 1986 while the maximum of 27.1 percent was recorded in 2004.

Global income is highly unequally divided. While the richest 10 percent earned more than half of the pre-tax national income worldwide, the bottom half earned only eight percent. Global wealth is even more unequally divided.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Income Before Taxes by Deciles of Income Before Taxes: Highest 10 Percent (91st to 100th Percentile) (CXUINCBEFTXLB1511M) from 2014 to 2023 about percentile, tax, income, and USA.

In 2024, the average annual full-time earnings for the top ten percent of earners in the United Kingdom was 72,150 British pounds, compared with 22,763 for the bottom ten percent of earners. As of this year, the average annual earnings for all full-time employees was 37,430 pounds, up from 34,963 pounds in the previous year. Strong wage growth continues in 2025 As of February 2025, wages in the UK were growing by approximately 5.9 percent compared with the previous year, with this falling to 5.6 percent if bonus pay is included. When adjusted for inflation, regular pay without bonuses grew by 2.1 percent, with overall pay including bonus pay rising by 1.9 percent. While UK wages have now outpaced inflation for almost two years, there was a long period between 2021 and 2023 when high inflation in the UK was rising faster than wages, one of the leading reasons behind a severe cost of living crisis at the time. UK's gender pay gap falls in 2024 For several years, the difference between average hourly earnings for men and women has been falling, with the UK's gender pay gap dropping to 13.1 percent in 2024, down from 27.5 percent in 1997. When examined by specific industry sectors, however, the discrepancy between male and female earnings can be much starker. In the financial services sector, for example, the gender pay gap was almost 30 percent, with professional, scientific and technical professions also having a relatively high gender pay gap rate of 20 percent.

The bottom 50 percent in Russia earned an average of 7.7 thousand euros at purchasing power parity (PPP) before income tax in 2021. To compare, the mean income of the top 10 percent stood at 104.6 thousand euros in the same year. Looking at the percentage distribution of national wealth in the country, the poorest half held only three percent of the total in 2021.

Brazil: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2022 is 41 percent, a decline from 41.6 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 29.75 percent, based on data from 28 countries. Historically, the average for Brazil from 1981 to 2022 is 44.53 percent. The minimum value, 39.5 percent, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 51.1 percent was recorded in 1989.

This table presents income shares, thresholds, tax shares, and total counts of individual Canadian tax filers, with a focus on high income individuals (95% income threshold, 99% threshold, etc.). Income thresholds are geography-specific; for example, the number of Nova Scotians in the top 1% will be calculated as the number of taxfiling Nova Scotians whose total income exceeded the 99% income threshold of Nova Scotian tax filers. Different definitions of income are available in the table namely market, total, and after-tax income, both with and without capital gains.

The average for 2021 based on 31 countries was 24.61 percent. The highest value was in Turkey: 34.7 percent and the lowest value was in Slovakia: 19.1 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Income share held by highest 10% in United States was reported at 30.4 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Income share held by highest 10% - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

In the first quarter of 2024, 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 follows closely behind China as the country with the most billionaires in the world. Elon Musk alone held around 219 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. 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.

Serbia: Percent income earned by the top 10 percent of earners: The latest value from 2021 is 25.9 percent, a decline from 27.1 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 27.53 percent, based on data from 71 countries. Historically, the average for Serbia from 2012 to 2021 is 27.18 percent. The minimum value, 25.4 percent, was reached in 2018 while the maximum of 29.2 percent was recorded in 2015.

Income before taxes refers to the total money earnings and selected money receipts during the 12 months prior to the interview date.

For more details about the data or the survey, visit the FAQs (https://www.bls.gov/cex/csxfaqs.htm).

Graph and download economic data for Income After Taxes: Income After Taxes by Deciles of Income Before Taxes: Highest 10 Percent (91st to 100th Percentile) (CXUINCAFTTXLB1511M) from 2014 to 2023 about percentile, tax, income, and USA.

Income share held by highest 10% in Brazil was reported at 40.8 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Brazil - Income share held by highest 10% - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

In 2023, about 26.9 percent of Asian private households in the U.S. had an annual income of 200,000 U.S. dollars and more. Comparatively, around 13.9 percent of Black households had an annual income under 15,000 U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Median Personal Income in the United States (MEPAINUSA646N) from 1974 to 2023 about personal income, personal, median, income, and USA.