Three metrics of inequality in United States
United States: Three metrics of inequality was 58.69 in 2024. ▬ Flat
Latest (2024)
58.69
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
38th
of 113 countries
All-time high
60.08
in 1934
All-time low
44.27
in 1970
Years of data
112
1913–2024
Three metrics of inequality in United States, 1913–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2024, three metrics of inequality in United States stood at 58.69.
That represents a change of up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, three metrics of inequality in United States peaked at 60.08 in 1934 and was at its lowest, 44.27, in 1970.
United States ranks 38th of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Three metrics of inequality in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 | 55.57 | — |
| 1914 | 56.07 | +0.9% |
| 1915 | 55.5 | -1.0% |
| 1916 | 56.57 | +1.9% |
| 1917 | 56.92 | +0.6% |
| 1918 | 56.28 | -1.1% |
| 1919 | 57.56 | +2.3% |
| 1920 | 53.77 | -6.6% |
| 1921 | 58.6 | +9.0% |
| 1922 | 57.66 | -1.6% |
| 1923 | 55.89 | -3.1% |
| 1924 | 57.61 | +3.1% |
| 1925 | 58.84 | +2.1% |
| 1926 | 59.26 | +0.7% |
| 1927 | 58.79 | -0.8% |
| 1928 | 59.57 | +1.3% |
| 1929 | 58.72 | -1.4% |
| 1930 | 55.94 | -4.7% |
| 1931 | 58.2 | +4.0% |
| 1932 | 59.6 | +2.4% |
| 1933 | 59.47 | -0.2% |
| 1934 | 60.08 | +1.0% |
| 1935 | 58.83 | -2.1% |
| 1936 | 59.14 | +0.5% |
| 1937 | 58.51 | -1.1% |
| 1938 | 58.11 | -0.7% |
| 1939 | 59.19 | +1.9% |
| 1940 | 56.78 | -4.1% |
| 1941 | 57.82 | +1.8% |
| 1942 | 52.34 | -9.5% |
| 1943 | 49.62 | -5.2% |
| 1944 | 47.36 | -4.6% |
| 1945 | 50.56 | +6.8% |
| 1946 | 50.28 | -0.6% |
| 1947 | 50.17 | -0.2% |
| 1948 | 51 | +1.7% |
| 1949 | 50.98 | -0.0% |
| 1950 | 48.65 | -4.6% |
| 1951 | 49.56 | +1.9% |
| 1952 | 48.31 | -2.5% |
| 1953 | 47.5 | -1.7% |
| 1954 | 48.32 | +1.7% |
| 1955 | 48.47 | +0.3% |
| 1956 | 47.53 | -1.9% |
| 1957 | 47.54 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 48.18 | +1.3% |
| 1959 | 48.67 | +1.0% |
| 1960 | 46.12 | -5.2% |
| 1961 | 48.97 | +6.2% |
| 1962 | 47.37 | -3.3% |
| 1963 | 48.02 | +1.4% |
| 1964 | 48.61 | +1.2% |
| 1965 | 48.03 | -1.2% |
| 1966 | 47.46 | -1.2% |
| 1967 | 45.47 | -4.2% |
| 1968 | 45.72 | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 44.39 | -2.9% |
| 1970 | 44.27 | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 45.2 | +2.1% |
| 1972 | 45.6 | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 45.4 | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 44.3 | -2.4% |
| 1975 | 45.09 | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 44.95 | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 45.37 | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 45.27 | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 45.33 | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 45.4 | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 46.05 | +1.4% |
| 1982 | 46.77 | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 48.03 | +2.7% |
| 1984 | 48.89 | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 49.08 | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 49.23 | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 50.03 | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 51.45 | +2.8% |
| 1989 | 51.11 | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 51.26 | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 51.14 | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 52.36 | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 52.11 | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 52.01 | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 52.84 | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 53.56 | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 54.18 | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 54.33 | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 54.67 | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 55.01 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 54.38 | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 54.02 | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 54.4 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 55.1 | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 56.16 | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 56.78 | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 56.45 | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 56.24 | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 55.7 | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 56.75 | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 57.31 | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 58.4 | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 57.73 | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 58.41 | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 58.31 | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 58.51 | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 58.05 | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 58.36 | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 58.05 | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 57.39 | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 58.31 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 58.83 | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 58.69 | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 58.69 | +0.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 58.69 is above the median for high income countries, which is 47.06, 1.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 56.35 | 55.5 | 57.56 | 7 |
| 1920s | 57.87 | 53.77 | 59.57 | 10 |
| 1930s | 58.71 | 55.94 | 60.08 | 10 |
| 1940s | 51.69 | 47.36 | 57.82 | 10 |
| 1950s | 48.27 | 47.5 | 49.56 | 10 |
| 1960s | 47.02 | 44.39 | 48.97 | 10 |
| 1970s | 45.08 | 44.27 | 45.6 | 10 |
| 1980s | 48.6 | 45.4 | 51.45 | 10 |
| 1990s | 52.85 | 51.14 | 54.67 | 10 |
| 2000s | 55.42 | 54.02 | 56.78 | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.99 | 56.75 | 58.51 | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.38 | 57.39 | 58.83 | 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 three metrics of inequality in United States?
- Three metrics of inequality in United States was 58.69 in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest three metrics of inequality recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 60.08 in 1934.
- What is the lowest three metrics of inequality recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.27 in 1970.
- How does United States rank for three metrics of inequality?
- United States ranks 38th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is three metrics of inequality 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 Three metrics of inequality. 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.