INCOME INEQUALITY
Gini Index (0.0 = perfect equality, 1.0 = one person has all the income)
1947 .376
1948 .371
1949 .378
1950 .379
1951 .363
1952 .368
1953 .359
1954 .371
1955 .363
1956 .358
1957 .351
1958 .354
1959 .361
1960 .364
1961 .374
1962 .362
1963 .362
1964 .361
1965 .356
1966 .349
1967 .348
1968 .348
1969 .349
1970 .353
1971 .355
1972 .359
1973 .356
1974 .355
1975 .357
1976 .358
1977 .363
1978 .363
1979 .365
1980 .365
1981 .369
1982 .380
1983 .382
1984 .383
1985 .389
1986 .392
1987 .393
1988 .395
1989 .401
1990 .396
1991 .397
1992 .403
1993 .429
1994 .426
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P60
Share of aggregate family income by quintile (1994 dollars, CPI-U-X1)
Year Lowest Second Third Fourth Fifth Top 5%
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1947 5.0 11.9 17.0 23.1 43.0 17.5
1948 4.9 12.1 17.3 23.2 42.4 17.1
1949 4.5 11.9 17.3 23.5 42.7 16.9
1950 4.5 12.0 17.4 23.4 42.7 17.3
1951 5.0 12.4 17.6 23.4 41.6 16.8
1952 4.9 12.3 17.4 23.4 41.9 17.4
1953 4.7 12.5 18.0 23.9 40.9 15.7
1954 4.5 12.1 17.7 23.9 41.8 16.3
1955 4.8 12.3 17.8 23.7 41.3 16.4
1956 5.0 12.5 17.9 23.7 41.0 16.1
1957 5.1 12.7 18.1 23.8 40.4 15.6
1958 5.0 12.5 18.0 23.9 40.6 15.4
1959 4.9 12.3 17.9 23.8 41.1 15.9
1960 4.8 12.2 17.8 24.0 41.3 15.9
1961 4.7 11.9 17.5 23.8 42.2 16.6
1962 5.0 12.1 17.6 24.0 41.3 15.7
1963 5.0 12.1 17.7 24.0 41.2 15.8
1964 5.1 12.0 17.7 24.0 41.2 15.9
1965 5.2 12.2 17.8 23.9 40.9 15.5
1966 5.6 12.4 17.8 23.8 40.5 15.6
1967 5.4 12.2 17.5 23.5 41.4 16.4
1968 5.6 12.4 17.7 23.7 40.5 15.6
1969 5.6 12.4 17.7 23.7 40.6 15.6
1970 5.4 12.2 17.6 23.8 40.9 15.6
1971 5.5 12.0 17.6 23.8 41.1 15.7
1972 5.4 11.9 17.5 23.9 41.4 15.9
1973 5.5 11.9 17.5 24.0 41.1 15.5
1974 5.5 12.0 17.5 24.0 41.0 15.5
1975 5.4 11.8 17.6 24.1 41.1 15.5
1976 5.4 11.8 17.6 24.1 41.1 15.6
1977 5.2 11.6 17.5 24.2 41.5 15.7
1978 5.2 11.6 17.5 24.1 41.5 15.6
1979 5.2 11.6 17.5 24.1 41.7 15.8
1980 5.1 11.6 17.5 24.3 41.6 15.3
1981 5.0 11.3 17.4 24.4 41.9 15.4
1982 4.7 11.2 17.1 24.3 42.7 16.0
1983 4.7 11.1 17.1 24.3 42.8 15.9
1984 4.7 11.0 17.0 24.4 42.9 16.0
1985 4.6 10.9 16.9 24.2 43.5 16.7
1986 4.6 10.8 16.8 24.0 43.7 17.0
1987 4.6 10.7 16.8 24.0 43.8 17.2
1988 4.6 10.7 16.7 24.0 44.0 17.2
1989 4.6 10.6 16.5 23.7 44.6 17.9
1990 4.6 10.8 16.6 23.8 44.3 17.4
1991 4.5 10.7 16.6 24.1 44.2 17.1
1992 4.3 10.5 16.5 24.0 44.7 17.6
1993 4.1 9.9 15.7 23.3 47.0 20.3
1994 4.2 10.0 15.7 23.3 46.9 20.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P60
Income at selected positions (1994 dollars, CPI-U-X1)
Upper Limit of Each Fifth
---------------------------------
First Second Third Fourth Top 5% Average
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1947 $9,700 $15,653 $21,226 $30,118 $49,433 $21,716
1948 9,361 15,391 20,550 28,667 46,683 20,765
1949 8,829 15,083 20,347 28,753 46,154 20,422
1950 9,395 16,155 21,500 29,883 48,731 21,580
1951 10,227 16,674 22,057 30,117 47,199 21,963
1952 10,564 17,089 23,120 31,271 48,654 22,935
1953 10,931 18,551 24,892 33,524 52,136 24,049
1954 10,212 17,962 24,316 33,315 52,794 23,773
1955 11,311 19,251 25,882 35,054 54,009 25,270
1956 12,206 20,543 27,252 36,950 57,267 26,741
1957 12,089 20,573 27,181 36,467 55,850 26,448
1958 11,941 20,252 26,997 36,814 56,637 26,265
1959 12,555 21,409 28,519 39,301 60,030 28,027
1960 12,813 22,092 29,290 40,502 62,299 28,660
1961 12,768 21,979 29,914 41,200 66,576 29,508
1962 13,555 22,591 30,724 42,924 67,323 30,137
1963 13,779 23,142 31,750 44,367 67,398 31,144
1964 14,292 24,187 32,982 44,860 69,430 32,261
1965 15,167 25,406 34,277 46,800 72,345 33,384
1966 16,567 26,937 36,052 49,007 75,784 35,345
1967 16,776 27,537 36,928 50,625 81,343 36,821
1968 17,863 28,697 39,153 52,676 80,940 38,013
1969 18,807 30,091 40,623 55,485 85,396 39,785
1970 18,301 29,855 40,545 55,731 87,018 39,853
1971 17,918 29,668 40,664 55,766 87,080 39,828
1972 18,732 31,042 42,908 59,280 92,912 42,140
1973 19,093 31,505 43,958 60,451 94,242 42,771
1974 19,152 31,290 43,055 59,474 93,415 42,007
1975 18,425 30,339 42,192 58,418 91,504 40,995
1976 18,725 31,184 43,377 59,909 94,159 42,090
1977 18,759 31,415 44,413 61,193 96,963 42,828
1978 19,338 32,494 45,492 63,232 100,249 44,111
1979 19,749 32,474 46,006 63,350 101,629 44,692
1980 18,728 31,531 44,658 62,665 99,040 43,171
1981 18,118 30,841 44,013 62,175 98,677 42,499
1982 17,671 30,263 43,328 62,166 101,249 42,462
1983 17,610 30,162 43,857 62,713 103,209 42,883
1984 17,937 31,200 45,193 64,990 106,407 44,292
1985 18,298 31,521 45,661 66,427 108,760 45,375
1986 18,931 32,588 47,489 68,380 112,773 47,224
1987 19,044 32,852 48,010 69,573 113,432 48,118
1988 18,919 32,799 48,231 70,036 115,254 48,366
1989 19,126 33,465 48,763 71,172 118,277 49,606
1990 19,102 32,933 47,669 69,723 116,063 48,363
1991 18,498 31,676 46,789 68,541 111,883 47,046
1992 17,654 31,345 46,478 67,657 111,981 46,711
1993 17,405 30,768 46,183 68,504 116,080 48,430
1994 17,940 31,300 47,000 69,998 120,043 49,340
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P60
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