page_title: Income inequality in the United States
section_title: Wealth
hierarchical_section_title: Income inequality in the United States / Other indicators of inequality / Wealth
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Holdings of Family Wealth 1989 to 2013
context_page_description: Income inequality in the United States is the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among the American population. It has fluctuated considerably since measurements began around 1915, moving in an arc between peaks in the 1920s and 2000s, with a 30-year period of relatively lower inequality between 1950–1980.
  The U.S. has the highest level of income inequality among its industrialized peers. When measured for all households, U.S. income inequality is comparable to other developed countries before taxes and transfers, but is among the highest after taxes and transfers, meaning the U.S. shifts relatively less income from higher income households to lower income households. In 2016, average market income was $15,600 for the lowest quintile and $280,300 for the highest quintile. The degree of inequality accelerated within the top quintile, with the top 1% at $1.8 million, approximately 30 times the $59,300 income of the middle quintile.
context_section_description: Wealth inequality refers to the distribution of net worth (i.e., what is owned minus what is owed) as opposed to annual income. Wealth is affected by movements in the prices of assets, such as stocks, bonds and real estate, which fluctuate over the short-term. Income inequality has significant effects over long-term shifts in wealth inequality. Wealth inequality is increasing:
  The top 1% owned approximately 40% of the wealth in 2012, versus 23% in 1978. The top 1% share of wealth was at or below 30% from 1950–1993.
  The top .1% owned approximately 22% of the wealth in 2012, versus 7% in 1978. The top 1% share of wealth was at or below 10% from 1950–1987. A conflicting estimate found that they held some 15%.
  The top 400 Americans had net worth of $2 trillion in 2013, more than the bottom 50%. Their average net worth was $5 billion.
  The lower 50% of households held 3% of the wealth in 1989 and 1% in 2013. Their average net worth in 2013 was approximately $11,000.
  The threshold for the wealthiest 1% was approximately $8.4 million measured for the 2008–2010 period. Nearly half the top 1% by income were also in the top 1% by wealth. In 2010, the wealthiest 5% of households owned approximately 72% of financial wealth, while the bottom 80% of households had 5%.
  The top 1% controlled 38.6% of the country's wealth in 2016.
  Much of the wealth gain came to those in the top 1%. Those between the top 1 percent and top 5 percent controlled a smaller percent of wealth than before.
caption: CBO Chart, U.S. Holdings of Family Wealth 1989 to 2013. The top 10% of families held 76% of the wealth in 2013, while the bottom 50% of families held 1%. Inequality increased from 1989 to 2013.[254]
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