In the third quarter of 2024, the top ten percent of earners in the United States held over 67 percent of total wealth. This is fairly consistent with the second quarter of 2024. Comparatively, the wealth of the bottom 50 percent of earners has been slowly increasing since the start of the 2010s, though remains low. Wealth distribution in the United States by generation can be found here.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Share of Net Worth Held by the Top 0.1% (99.9th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBSTP1300) from Q3 1989 to Q4 2024 about shares, net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, 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.

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 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.

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

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

In the first quarter of 2024, 51.8 percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by members of the baby boomer generation. In comparison, millennials own around 9.4 percent of total wealth in the U.S. In terms of population distribution, there is almost an equal share of millennials and baby boomers in the United States.

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.

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.

Income Inequality in Saratoga County, NY was 12.33395 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Saratoga County, NY reached a record high of 12.33395 in January of 2023 and a record low of 10.47557 in January of 2015. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Saratoga County, NY - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Income Inequality in Palm Beach County, FL was 19.40377 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Palm Beach County, FL reached a record high of 19.47998 in January of 2022 and a record low of 16.92851 in January of 2010. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Palm Beach County, FL - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Share of Net Worth Held by the Bottom 50% (1st to 50th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBSB50215) from Q3 1989 to Q4 2024 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

Brazil is one of the most unequal countries in terms of income in Latin America. In 2022, it was estimated that almost 57 percent of the income generated in Brazil was held by the richest 20 percent of its population. Among the Latin American countries with available data included in this graph, Colombia came in first, as the wealthiest 20 percent of the Colombian population held over 59 percent of the country's total income.

The massive wealth inequality in the world is underpinned by this chart: While just above one percent of the world's population had fortunes of more than one million U.S. dollars in 2022, more than half of the global population had a total wealth of less than 10,000 U.S. dollars.

Income Inequality in Monterey County, CA was 13.93021 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Monterey County, CA reached a record high of 13.93021 in January of 2023 and a record low of 12.47945 in January of 2012. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Monterey County, CA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

Income Inequality in Los Angeles County, CA was 19.65721 Ratio in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Income Inequality in Los Angeles County, CA reached a record high of 19.65721 in January of 2023 and a record low of 16.80820 in January of 2010. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Income Inequality in Los Angeles County, CA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

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 March of 2025.