Income share held by second 20% in United States
United States: Income share held by second 20% was 10.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Income share held by second 20% 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.
Analysis
United States recorded 10.0% for income share held by second 20% in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 62 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income share held by second 20% in United States peaked at 12.1% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 2019.
United States ranks 100th of 121 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 62 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.6% | 11.5% | 11.7% | 7 |
| 1970s | 11.8% | 11.6% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.4% | 11.0% | 12.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.7% | 10.5% | 11.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.5% | 10.3% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.2% | 10.0% | 10.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.3% | 10.0% | 10.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More poverty & inequality data for United States
- Poverty headcount ratio at $8.30 a day (2021 PPP) 1.8% (2024)
- Poverty headcount ratio at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) 1.2% (2024)
- Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) 1.1% (2024)
- Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) 0.8% (2024)
- Prosperity gap 1.3 average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day (2024)
- Poverty gap at $8.30 a day (2021 PPP) 1.2% (2024)
- Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line 20.2% (2024)
- Poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) 0.9% (2024)
- Population living in slums 0.1% (2022)
- Income share held by third 20% 15.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income share held by second 20% in United States?
- Income share held by second 20% in United States was 10.0% 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 income share held by second 20% recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 12.1% in 1978.
- What is the lowest income share held by second 20% recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 2019.
- How does United States rank for income share held by second 20%?
- United States ranks 100th out of 121 countries with data for 2024.
- Is income share held by second 20% rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Income share held by second 20%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.