Graph and download economic data for GINI Index for the United States (SIPOVGINIUSA) from 1963 to 2022 about gini, indexes, and USA.

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.

The income distribution Gini-coefficient of individual earnings for full-time, year-round workers was 0.42 in 2023, indicating no change from the year prior. A Gini coefficient of zero expresses perfect equality, where all would have the same income, and a Gini coefficient of one expresses maximal inequality among values. In 2021, the Gini coefficient for individual income was 0.43.

Graph and download economic data for Income Gini Ratio for Households by Race of Householder, All Races from 1967 to 2023 about gini, households, income, and USA.

United States US: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data was reported at 41.500 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 41.000 % for 2013. United States US: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate data is updated yearly, averaging 40.400 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 41.500 % in 2016 and a record low of 34.600 % in 1979. United States US: Gini Coefficient (GINI Index): World Bank Estimate 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: Poverty. Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Lorenz curve plots the cumulative percentages of total income received against the cumulative number of recipients, starting with the poorest individual or household. The Gini index measures the area between the Lorenz curve and a hypothetical line of absolute equality, expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. Thus a Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

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.

This statistic shows the inequality of income distribution in China from 2005 to 2023 based on the Gini Index. In 2023, China reached a score of 46.5 (0.465) points. The Gini Index is a statistical measure that is used to represent unequal distributions, e.g. income distribution. It can take any value between 1 and 100 points (or 0 and 1). The closer the value is to 100 the greater is the inequality. 40 or 0.4 is the warning level set by the United Nations. The Gini Index for South Korea had ranged at about 0.32 in 2022. Income distribution in China The Gini coefficient is used to measure the income inequality of a country. The United States, the World Bank, the US Central Intelligence Agency, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development all provide their own measurement of the Gini coefficient, varying in data collection and survey methods. According to the United Nations Development Programme, countries with the largest income inequality based on the Gini index are mainly located in Africa and Latin America, with South Africa displaying the world's highest value in 2022. The world's most equal countries, on the contrary, are situated mostly in Europe. The United States' Gini for household income has increased by around ten percent since 1990, to 0.47 in 2023. Development of inequality in China Growing inequality counts as one of the biggest social, economic, and political challenges to many countries, especially emerging markets. Over the last 20 years, China has become one of the world's largest economies. As parts of the society have become more and more affluent, the country's Gini coefficient has also grown sharply over the last decades. As shown by the graph at hand, China's Gini coefficient ranged at a level higher than the warning line for increasing risk of social unrest over the last decade. However, the situation has slightly improved since 2008, when the Gini coefficient had reached the highest value of recent times.

Graph and download economic data for Income Gini Ratio of Families by Race of Householder, Asian Alone (GINIAAF) from 2002 to 2023 about gini, asian, households, 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

Graph and download economic data for Income Gini Ratio for Households by Race of Householder, Black Alone or in Combination (GINIBAOICH) from 2002 to 2023 about gini, African-American, households, income, and USA.

In 2023, the Gini index for Black households in the United States stood at 0.5, which was higher than the national index that year. The Census Bureau defines the Gini index as “a statistical measure of income inequality ranging from zero to one. A measure of one indicates perfect inequality, i.e., one household having all the income and the rest having none. A measure of zero indicates perfect equality, i.e., all households having an equal share of income.”

In 2023, the Gini Index for all U.S. households was 0.49. The U.S. Census Bureau defines the Gini index as “a statistical measure of income inequality ranging from zero to one. A measure of one indicates perfect inequality, i.e., one household having all the income and the rest having none. A measure of zero indicates perfect equality, i.e., all households having an equal share of income.”

United States - Income Gini of Families by Race of Householder, Asian Alone was 0.44200 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Income Gini of Families by Race of Householder, Asian Alone reached a record high of 0.46200 in January of 2009 and a record low of 0.42100 in January of 2003. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Income Gini of Families by Race of Householder, Asian Alone - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Income Gini Ratio of Families by Race of Householder, Black (DISCONTINUED) (GINIBF) from 1966 to 2001 about gini, African-American, households, income, and USA.

Based on the degree of inequality in income distribution measured by the Gini coefficient, Brazil was the most unequal country in Latin America as of 2022. Brazil's Gini coefficient amounted to 52.9. Dominican Republic recorded the lowest Gini coefficient at 38.5, even below Uruguay and Chile, which are some of the countries with the highest human development indexes in Latin America.

The Gini coefficient explained The Gini coefficient measures the deviation of the distribution of income among individuals or households in a given country from a perfectly equal distribution. A value of 0 represents absolute equality, whereas 100 would be the highest possible degree of inequality. This measurement reflects the degree of wealth inequality at a certain moment in time, though it may fail to capture how average levels of income improve or worsen over time.

What affects the Gini coefficient in Latin America? Latin America, as other developing regions in the world, generally records high rates of inequality, with a Gini coefficient ranging between 38 and 54 points according to the latest available data from the reporting period 2010-2021. According to the Human Development Report, wealth redistribution by means of tax transfers improves Latin America's Gini coefficient to a lesser degree than it does in advanced economies. Wider access to education and health services, on the other hand, have been proven to have a greater direct effect in improving Gini coefficient measurements in the region.

South Africa had the highest inequality in income distribution in 2023 with a Gini score of 63. Its South African neighbor Namibia followed in second. The Gini coefficient measures the deviation of the distribution of income (or consumption) among individuals or households within a country from a perfectly equal distribution. A value of 0 represents absolute equality, a value of 100 absolute inequality. All the 20 most unequal countries in the world were either located in Africa or Latin America & The Caribbean.

United States - Income Gini of Families by Race of Householder, Black Alone or in Combination was 0.47600 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Income Gini of Families by Race of Householder, Black Alone or in Combination reached a record high of 0.48900 in January of 2020 and a record low of 0.45500 in January of 2004. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Income Gini of Families by Race of Householder, Black Alone or in Combination - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on February of 2025.

United States - Income Gini for Households by Race of Householder, White Alone Not Hispanic was 0.47300 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Income Gini for Households by Race of Householder, White Alone Not Hispanic reached a record high of 0.48400 in January of 2021 and a record low of 0.45200 in January of 2002. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Income Gini for Households by Race of Householder, White Alone Not Hispanic - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

In 2023, the Gini index for households of Asian origin in the United States stood at 0.48. The Census Bureau defines the Gini index as “a statistical measure of income inequality ranging from zero to one. A measure of one indicates perfect inequality, i.e., one household having all the income and rest having none. A measure of zero indicates perfect equality, i.e., all households having an equal share of 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.