Gini coefficient (before tax) in United States
United States: Gini coefficient (before tax) was 0.5869 in 2024. ▬ Flat
Latest (2024)
0.5869
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
38th
of 113 countries
All-time high
0.6008
in 1934
All-time low
0.4427
in 1970
Years of data
112
1913–2024
Gini coefficient (before tax) in United States, 1913–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
United States recorded 0.5869 for gini coefficient (before tax) in 2024.
The figure is up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gini coefficient (before tax) in United States peaked at 0.6008 in 1934 and was at its lowest, 0.4427, in 1970.
United States ranks 38th of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Gini coefficient (before tax) in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 | 0.5557 | — |
| 1914 | 0.5607 | +0.9% |
| 1915 | 0.555 | -1.0% |
| 1916 | 0.5657 | +1.9% |
| 1917 | 0.5692 | +0.6% |
| 1918 | 0.5628 | -1.1% |
| 1919 | 0.5756 | +2.3% |
| 1920 | 0.5377 | -6.6% |
| 1921 | 0.586 | +9.0% |
| 1922 | 0.5766 | -1.6% |
| 1923 | 0.5589 | -3.1% |
| 1924 | 0.5761 | +3.1% |
| 1925 | 0.5884 | +2.1% |
| 1926 | 0.5926 | +0.7% |
| 1927 | 0.5879 | -0.8% |
| 1928 | 0.5957 | +1.3% |
| 1929 | 0.5872 | -1.4% |
| 1930 | 0.5594 | -4.7% |
| 1931 | 0.582 | +4.0% |
| 1932 | 0.596 | +2.4% |
| 1933 | 0.5947 | -0.2% |
| 1934 | 0.6008 | +1.0% |
| 1935 | 0.5883 | -2.1% |
| 1936 | 0.5914 | +0.5% |
| 1937 | 0.5851 | -1.1% |
| 1938 | 0.5811 | -0.7% |
| 1939 | 0.5919 | +1.9% |
| 1940 | 0.5678 | -4.1% |
| 1941 | 0.5782 | +1.8% |
| 1942 | 0.5234 | -9.5% |
| 1943 | 0.4962 | -5.2% |
| 1944 | 0.4736 | -4.6% |
| 1945 | 0.5056 | +6.8% |
| 1946 | 0.5028 | -0.6% |
| 1947 | 0.5017 | -0.2% |
| 1948 | 0.51 | +1.7% |
| 1949 | 0.5098 | -0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.4865 | -4.6% |
| 1951 | 0.4956 | +1.9% |
| 1952 | 0.4831 | -2.5% |
| 1953 | 0.475 | -1.7% |
| 1954 | 0.4832 | +1.7% |
| 1955 | 0.4847 | +0.3% |
| 1956 | 0.4753 | -1.9% |
| 1957 | 0.4754 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.4818 | +1.3% |
| 1959 | 0.4867 | +1.0% |
| 1960 | 0.4612 | -5.2% |
| 1961 | 0.4897 | +6.2% |
| 1962 | 0.4737 | -3.3% |
| 1963 | 0.4802 | +1.4% |
| 1964 | 0.4861 | +1.2% |
| 1965 | 0.4803 | -1.2% |
| 1966 | 0.4746 | -1.2% |
| 1967 | 0.4547 | -4.2% |
| 1968 | 0.4572 | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 0.4439 | -2.9% |
| 1970 | 0.4427 | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 0.452 | +2.1% |
| 1972 | 0.456 | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 0.454 | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 0.443 | -2.4% |
| 1975 | 0.4509 | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 0.4495 | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 0.4537 | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 0.4527 | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 0.4533 | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 0.454 | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 0.4605 | +1.4% |
| 1982 | 0.4677 | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 0.4803 | +2.7% |
| 1984 | 0.4889 | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 0.4908 | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 0.4923 | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 0.5003 | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 0.5145 | +2.8% |
| 1989 | 0.5111 | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 0.5126 | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 0.5114 | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 0.5236 | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 0.5211 | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 0.5201 | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 0.5284 | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 0.5356 | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 0.5418 | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 0.5433 | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 0.5467 | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 0.5501 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 0.5438 | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 0.5402 | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 0.544 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 0.551 | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 0.5616 | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 0.5678 | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 0.5645 | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 0.5624 | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 0.557 | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 0.5675 | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 0.5731 | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 0.584 | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 0.5773 | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.5841 | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 0.5831 | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 0.5851 | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.5805 | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 0.5836 | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 0.5805 | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 0.5739 | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 0.5831 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 0.5883 | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 0.5869 | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 0.5869 | +0.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.5869 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.4706, 1.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.5635 | 0.555 | 0.5756 | 7 |
| 1920s | 0.5787 | 0.5377 | 0.5957 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.5871 | 0.5594 | 0.6008 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.5169 | 0.4736 | 0.5782 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.4827 | 0.475 | 0.4956 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.4702 | 0.4439 | 0.4897 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4508 | 0.4427 | 0.456 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.486 | 0.454 | 0.5145 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5285 | 0.5114 | 0.5467 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5542 | 0.5402 | 0.5678 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5799 | 0.5675 | 0.5851 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5838 | 0.5739 | 0.5883 | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More poverty & inequality data for United States
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.62 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 8,414 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 24.85 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 24.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gini coefficient (before tax) in United States?
- Gini coefficient (before tax) in United States was 0.5869 in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6008 in 1934.
- What is the lowest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4427 in 1970.
- How does United States rank for gini coefficient (before tax)?
- United States ranks 38th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is gini coefficient (before tax) rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gini coefficient (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 112 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Gini coefficient measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of income before taxes and benefits.