Reduction in income inequality before and after tax … among in United States
United States: Reduction in income inequality before and after tax … among was 16.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population in United States, 2013–2023
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States recorded 16.8% for reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.6% on the previous year and down 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population in United States peaked at 23.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 16.8%, in 2023.
That places United States 30th out of 39 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax … among in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 18.0% | — |
| 2014 | 17.7% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 18.1% | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 17.9% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 18.0% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 17.7% | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 17.2% | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 23.2% | +35.1% |
| 2021 | 22.5% | -3.0% |
| 2022 | 17.5% | -22.3% |
| 2023 | 16.8% | -3.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 16.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 24.0%, 70% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 17.8% | 17.2% | 18.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 20.0% | 16.8% | 23.2% | 4 |
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 reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population in United States?
- Reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population in United States was 16.8% in 2023, according to OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 23.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.8% in 2023.
- How does United States rank for reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population?
- United States ranks 30th out of 39 countries with data for 2023.
- Is reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Reduction in income inequality before and after tax among total vs. working age population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
This is the percentage difference between the Gini coefficient before taxes and benefits and the Gini coefficient after taxes and benefits.