Income share of the richest 1% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in United States
United States: Income share of the richest 1% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) was 20.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
20.7%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
16th
of 113 countries
All-time high
22.3%
in 1928
All-time low
10.3%
in 1978
Years of data
112
1913–2024
Income share of the richest 1% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in United States, 1913–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States recorded 20.7% for income share of the richest 1% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in 2024.
That represents a change of up 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income share of the richest 1% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in United States peaked at 22.3% in 1928 and was at its lowest, 10.3%, in 1978.
That places United States 16th out of 113 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 112 years of available data.
Income share of the richest 1% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 | 20.4% | — |
| 1914 | 20.9% | +2.3% |
| 1915 | 20.3% | -3.0% |
| 1916 | 21.4% | +5.3% |
| 1917 | 21.3% | -0.2% |
| 1918 | 19.7% | -7.6% |
| 1919 | 21.6% | +10.0% |
| 1920 | 18.8% | -13.3% |
| 1921 | 19.1% | +2.0% |
| 1922 | 18.6% | -3.0% |
| 1923 | 17.7% | -4.7% |
| 1924 | 18.5% | +4.4% |
| 1925 | 20.7% | +12.0% |
| 1926 | 21.9% | +6.1% |
| 1927 | 21.3% | -3.1% |
| 1928 | 22.3% | +4.8% |
| 1929 | 22.2% | -0.5% |
| 1930 | 19.1% | -14.1% |
| 1931 | 16.8% | -12.1% |
| 1932 | 16.5% | -1.5% |
| 1933 | 17.5% | +6.1% |
| 1934 | 19.1% | +8.9% |
| 1935 | 19.3% | +1.4% |
| 1936 | 20.9% | +8.3% |
| 1937 | 20.7% | -1.3% |
| 1938 | 18.6% | -9.8% |
| 1939 | 19.6% | +5.0% |
| 1940 | 20.5% | +4.6% |
| 1941 | 21.6% | +5.4% |
| 1942 | 20.6% | -4.6% |
| 1943 | 18.6% | -9.7% |
| 1944 | 15.3% | -17.4% |
| 1945 | 14.2% | -7.2% |
| 1946 | 14.3% | +0.2% |
| 1947 | 15.0% | +4.8% |
| 1948 | 16.3% | +9.0% |
| 1949 | 15.7% | -3.6% |
| 1950 | 16.4% | +4.3% |
| 1951 | 16.0% | -2.4% |
| 1952 | 15.0% | -6.4% |
| 1953 | 14.0% | -6.4% |
| 1954 | 13.9% | -0.4% |
| 1955 | 14.6% | +4.7% |
| 1956 | 13.8% | -5.3% |
| 1957 | 13.5% | -2.2% |
| 1958 | 12.7% | -6.3% |
| 1959 | 13.2% | +4.2% |
| 1960 | 12.4% | -5.9% |
| 1961 | 12.5% | +0.8% |
| 1962 | 12.8% | +2.5% |
| 1963 | 13.0% | +1.1% |
| 1964 | 13.1% | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 13.0% | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 13.0% | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 12.4% | -4.6% |
| 1968 | 12.6% | +1.9% |
| 1969 | 11.6% | -8.0% |
| 1970 | 10.7% | -7.8% |
| 1971 | 11.1% | +3.3% |
| 1972 | 11.1% | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 10.9% | -1.8% |
| 1974 | 10.4% | -4.7% |
| 1975 | 10.4% | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 10.4% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 10.6% | +2.1% |
| 1978 | 10.3% | -2.2% |
| 1979 | 10.9% | +4.9% |
| 1980 | 10.4% | -4.1% |
| 1981 | 10.7% | +2.4% |
| 1982 | 11.0% | +3.0% |
| 1983 | 11.5% | +4.6% |
| 1984 | 12.2% | +5.7% |
| 1985 | 12.3% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 12.0% | -2.4% |
| 1987 | 13.2% | +10.5% |
| 1988 | 15.2% | +14.9% |
| 1989 | 14.7% | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 14.7% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 13.7% | -7.2% |
| 1992 | 14.7% | +7.5% |
| 1993 | 14.2% | -3.6% |
| 1994 | 14.0% | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 14.5% | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 15.2% | +5.0% |
| 1997 | 16.0% | +4.9% |
| 1998 | 16.3% | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 16.8% | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 17.3% | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 16.6% | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 16.1% | -3.0% |
| 2003 | 16.3% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 17.1% | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 18.1% | +5.9% |
| 2006 | 18.5% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 18.4% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 17.9% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 16.7% | -6.9% |
| 2010 | 17.9% | +7.1% |
| 2011 | 18.1% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 19.5% | +7.8% |
| 2013 | 18.5% | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 19.0% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 18.9% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 18.7% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 19.1% | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 19.0% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 18.2% | -4.6% |
| 2021 | 19.9% | +9.4% |
| 2022 | 20.7% | +4.3% |
| 2023 | 20.7% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 20.7% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 20.8% | 19.7% | 21.6% | 7 |
| 1920s | 20.1% | 17.7% | 22.3% | 10 |
| 1930s | 18.8% | 16.5% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 1940s | 17.2% | 14.2% | 21.6% | 10 |
| 1950s | 14.3% | 12.7% | 16.4% | 10 |
| 1960s | 12.6% | 11.6% | 13.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 10.7% | 10.3% | 11.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.3% | 10.4% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.0% | 13.7% | 16.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.3% | 16.1% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.8% | 17.9% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.0% | 18.2% | 20.7% | 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 income share of the richest 1% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in United States?
- Income share of the richest 1% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in United States was 20.7% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income share of the richest 1% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 22.3% in 1928.
- What is the lowest income share of the richest 1% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.3% in 1978.
- How does United States rank for income share of the richest 1% vs. gini coefficient (before tax)?
- United States ranks 16th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is income share of the richest 1% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Income share of the richest 1% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of income received by the richest 1% of the population. Income here is measured before taxes and benefits.