7.2a Income
Income is money earned through work, government benefits like Social Security, and interest on investments or bank deposits. The U.S. median household income was $70,784 in 2021 (Semega & Kollar, 2022). Overall incomes in the United States have increased over time. However, the growth rate is higher for high-income individuals, increasing the nation’s income gap. Table 7.1 shows that, on average, annual incomes for U.S. adults grew by $2,800 between 2019 and 2023. However, this average hides a wide range of results, from $55 for the bottom 50% of earners to $660,000 for the top 0.1% – 01%. Figure 7.1 shows the income gap between the lowest and highest earners. The income gap was once much smaller but began growing during the 1980s and continues to widen.
Table 7.1
Real Income Growth Per Adult in 2019-2023
| Group | Growth (%) | Gain ($) | Average Income in 2023 |
| Top 0.1% – 0.01% | 14.4 | $660,000 | $5.2 million |
| Top 1% – 0.1% | 8.3% | $83,000 | $1.1 million |
| Top 10 – 1% | 2.5% | $6,700 | $269,700 |
| Middle 40% | 0.1% | $130 | $92,100 |
| Bottom 50% | 0.3% | $55 | $18,500 |
| Total | 3.2% | $2,800 | $89,000 |
Data based on Blanchet, T., Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (2025). Who benefits from income and wealth growth in the United States? Realtime Inequality. https://realtimeinequality.org/. Copyright 2025 by Realtime Inequality.
Figure 7.1
Average Income for Working Age (20-64) Adults, 1976-2022
Data based on Blanchet, T., Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (2025). Who benefits from income and wealth growth in the United States? Realtime Inequality. https://realtimeinequality.org/. Copyright 2024 by Realtime Inequality.