Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in United States
United States: Reduction in income inequality before and after tax was 22.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in United States, 2013–2023
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for reduction in income inequality before and after tax in United States is 22.1%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, reduction in income inequality before and after tax in United States peaked at 27.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 21.8%, in 2019.
United States ranks 32nd of 39 countries on this measure, 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 in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 22.8% | — |
| 2014 | 22.4% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 23.0% | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 22.8% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 22.8% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 22.4% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 21.8% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 27.6% | +26.6% |
| 2021 | 27.4% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 22.6% | -17.3% |
| 2023 | 22.1% | -2.5% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 22.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 34.3%, 64% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 22.6% | 21.8% | 23.0% | 7 |
| 2020s | 24.9% | 22.1% | 27.6% | 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 in United States?
- Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in United States was 22.1% 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 recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 27.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.8% in 2019.
- How does United States rank for reduction in income inequality before and after tax?
- United States ranks 32nd out of 39 countries with data for 2023.
- Is reduction in income inequality before and after tax rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. 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. 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.