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.

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

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.

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.

In the first quarter of 2025, 51.4 percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by members of the baby boomer generation. In comparison, millennials owned around 10.3 percent of total wealth in the U.S. In terms of population distribution, there was almost an equal share of millennials and baby boomers in the United States in 2024.

Graph and download economic data for Share of Net Worth Held by the 50th to 90th Wealth Percentiles (WFRBSN40188) from Q3 1989 to Q1 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

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.

The USA: Gini income inequality index: The latest value from 2022 is 41.3 index points, an increase from 39.7 index points in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 38.33 index points, based on data from 28 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1963 to 2022 is 38.7 index points. The minimum value, 34.7 index points, was reached in 1980 while the maximum of 41.5 index points was recorded in 2014.

The massive wealth inequality in the world is underpinned by this chart: while *** percent of the world's population had fortunes of more than one million U.S. dollars in 2025, over ** percent of the global population had a total wealth of less than 10,000 U.S. dollars.

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 July 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 Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level (HNONWPDPI) from Q4 1946 to Q1 2025 about net worth, disposable, nonprofit organizations, personal income, percent, Net, households, personal, income, and USA.

Money Supply M2 in the United States increased to 21942 USD Billion in May from 21862.40 USD Billion in April of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Money Supply M2 - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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.

Disposable Personal Income in the United States increased to 22537.20 USD Billion in June from 22476.20 USD Billion in May of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Disposable Personal Income - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In 2023, around 10.3 percent of U.S. private households had an annual income between 35,000 and 49,999 U.S. dollars in the United States. Income levels between 100,000 to 149,999 U.S. dollars made up the largest share of the population at 16.5 percent in 2023.

United States - Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level was 760.04% in January of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level reached a record high of 832.87 in January of 2022 and a record low of 455.44 in July of 1974. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Net Worth as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income, Level - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

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.

Globally, the gap between the richest and poorest population is widening, and United States of America is no exception. Waldo Tobler's First Law of Geography states that near things are more related than distant things, which can sometimes be seen within a map as clustering of features. Use this map to explore the distribution of households within the income extremes.The app allows the user to explore an area by typing an area of interest into the search bar. Dot density is used to represent multiple households per dot and are contained within census tract boundaries. A pop-up appears at larger scales in order to provide a chart comparing the household count for the highest and lowest income ranges. The highest income range covers households which make $200,000 or more a year. The lowest income range shows households making less than $25,000 a year. The map is shown from 36M scale to 72K scale and is designed to be displayed on the Dark Gray Canvas Basemap.The data within this map comes from Esri's Updated Demographics. The vintage of the data and boundaries is 2015.