Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in United States
United States: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income was 18.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in United States, 1963–2024
Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in United States is 18.9%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 62 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and up 11.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in United States peaked at 18.9% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 15.3%, in 2021.
United States ranks 16th of 123 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 15.6% | — |
| 1964 | 15.7% | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 15.9% | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 16.6% | +4.4% |
| 1967 | 16.2% | -2.4% |
| 1968 | 15.7% | -3.1% |
| 1969 | 15.7% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 16.1% | +2.5% |
| 1971 | 16.1% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 17.0% | +5.6% |
| 1973 | 16.3% | -4.1% |
| 1974 | 15.7% | -3.7% |
| 1975 | 16.3% | +3.8% |
| 1976 | 16.0% | -1.8% |
| 1977 | 15.7% | -1.9% |
| 1978 | 15.6% | -0.6% |
| 1979 | 15.4% | -1.3% |
| 1980 | 15.8% | +2.6% |
| 1981 | 16.5% | +4.4% |
| 1982 | 17.6% | +6.7% |
| 1983 | 18.6% | +5.7% |
| 1984 | 18.3% | -1.6% |
| 1985 | 18.2% | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 18.3% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 18.1% | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 18.1% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 17.9% | -1.1% |
| 1990 | 18.1% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 18.6% | +2.8% |
| 1992 | 18.7% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 18.9% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 18.2% | -3.7% |
| 1995 | 17.7% | -2.7% |
| 1996 | 18.0% | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 17.6% | -2.2% |
| 1998 | 17.9% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 17.7% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 17.3% | -2.3% |
| 2001 | 17.5% | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 18.1% | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 17.9% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 17.6% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 17.7% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 17.9% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 18.3% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 18.3% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 17.4% | -4.9% |
| 2010 | 17.7% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 17.9% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 18.1% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 17.9% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 17.0% | -5.0% |
| 2015 | 17.2% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 17.9% | +4.1% |
| 2017 | 18.3% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 18.2% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 18.6% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 17.0% | -8.6% |
| 2021 | 15.3% | -10.0% |
| 2022 | 18.3% | +19.6% |
| 2023 | 18.6% | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 18.9% | +1.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 18.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.6%, 1.6× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15.9% | 15.6% | 16.6% | 7 |
| 1970s | 16.0% | 15.4% | 17.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.7% | 15.8% | 18.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.1% | 17.6% | 18.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.8% | 17.3% | 18.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.9% | 17.0% | 18.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.6% | 15.3% | 18.9% | 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 proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in United States?
- Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in United States was 18.9% in 2024, according to World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ.
- What is the highest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 18.9% in 1993.
- What is the lowest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.3% in 2021.
- How does United States rank for proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income?
- United States ranks 16th out of 123 countries with data for 2024.
- Is proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ, published as part of Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2021 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.