21-Jan-15
Number of Households, Average Income and Income Shares, and Income Category Minimums
for Elderly Childless Households, by Household Income Category, 1979-2011
Year
Lowest
Quintile
Second
Quintile
Middle
Quintile
Fourth
Quintile
Highest
Quintile
All
Quintiles
81st - 90th
Percentiles
91st - 95th 96th - 99th
Percentiles Percentiles
Top 1 %
Number of Households (Millions)
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
6.5
6.2
5.7
5.0
4.4
4.9
4.9
4.5
4.2
4.4
4.4
4.7
4.7
4.3
4.3
4.1
4.2
3.7
3.6
3.6
3.8
4.3
4.0
3.8
3.9
3.8
3.7
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.1
2.9
3.5
3.6
3.6
3.8
4.0
4.3
4.0
4.1
4.5
5.2
5.3
5.3
5.0
5.0
5.2
5.4
5.7
5.4
5.4
5.3
5.2
5.1
5.2
5.4
5.6
5.8
5.9
5.6
5.6
5.2
5.8
5.7
5.7
6.0
2.3
2.4
2.7
3.0
3.4
3.3
3.5
3.9
4.1
4.0
4.1
4.3
4.6
4.4
4.5
5.0
4.9
5.0
5.1
5.6
5.8
5.8
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.2
5.5
5.5
5.6
5.8
6.2
6.1
6.5
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.2
3.3
3.2
3.2
3.2
3.3
3.3
3.4
3.3
3.3
3.4
3.6
3.6
3.3
3.2
3.4
4.3
4.3
4.4
4.6
4.6
4.8
5.1
5.3
5.8
5.8
6.0
2.3
2.5
2.8
2.9
3.0
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.6
2.7
3.0
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.4
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.8
3.9
3.7
3.6
3.6
3.8
4.3
4.5
4.9
4.6
4.7
5.0
5.1
16.5
16.8
17.2
17.6
17.9
18.1
18.6
19.0
19.5
19.7
20.1
20.4
20.8
20.4
20.6
21.2
21.4
21.4
21.5
21.6
21.8
22.6
22.7
22.8
23.3
23.3
23.7
24.0
24.4
25.2
25.6
25.7
27.2
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.0
1.1
1.3
1.3
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.3
1.6
1.7
1.7
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.7
1.8
2.0
2.1
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.7
0.8
0.9
0.9
1.0
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.9
0.9
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.1
1.1
1.3
1.3
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.0
0.9
1.0
1.0
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
Average Before-Tax Income (2011 dollars)
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
14,400
14,300
14,300
14,000
13,700
14,600
14,500
14,800
14,700
15,200
15,400
16,000
15,900
15,800
16,100
16,200
17,200
17,200
17,700
18,500
18,700
18,800
19,300
18,900
18,800
19,300
19,800
19,800
20,600
20,400
20,200
20,400
20,800
28,100
26,900
26,700
26,300
25,300
27,100
27,000
27,500
26,900
27,400
27,800
28,600
28,400
28,700
28,900
28,700
30,000
30,300
30,900
32,900
34,200
33,800
34,100
33,300
33,100
34,400
34,800
35,500
36,400
35,400
34,700
35,300
35,600
42,100
41,000
41,100
40,100
39,800
42,400
42,600
43,600
43,800
44,600
45,100
45,400
45,200
45,100
45,900
45,900
47,500
48,200
49,800
51,100
52,200
52,400
53,400
52,600
52,600
54,700
56,200
56,700
58,700
57,000
56,100
56,500
56,200
59,500
57,000
57,900
57,700
57,500
61,200
61,900
64,300
63,800
63,900
64,700
64,300
63,400
64,000
64,200
66,100
67,300
69,000
71,100
75,500
78,100
80,100
78,400
76,700
78,200
80,600
83,500
85,100
87,100
84,600
83,300
84,000
84,300
152,600
142,400
139,700
140,400
142,100
158,500
169,900
193,700
175,000
186,800
177,500
170,700
162,400
168,400
167,800
175,300
175,400
192,500
203,900
214,900
228,900
230,100
212,900
207,100
217,600
241,500
252,800
257,400
274,100
240,300
217,200
224,800
231,800
45,200
45,100
47,000
48,800
49,800
52,700
54,300
58,900
53,900
55,800
56,500
56,000
54,400
55,900
56,000
56,800
60,100
65,900
69,700
73,700
76,400
76,100
72,900
70,200
71,500
78,600
85,300
89,500
96,800
84,800
80,300
85,000
84,500
80,600
79,200
77,900
77,500
78,900
83,400
84,000
89,500
91,500
94,600
93,500
91,900
90,000
93,400
92,600
95,800
97,600
99,500
101,800
107,100
110,300
111,500
111,100
111,000
112,300
116,400
120,200
122,000
124,600
121,500
120,700
120,400
121,500
102,400
99,400
102,300
99,700
101,400
110,800
110,400
114,000
116,800
117,600
119,400
119,400
120,400
120,500
122,400
125,300
126,300
133,300
138,200
142,700
148,300
153,500
150,000
147,200
149,400
156,400
163,300
167,100
170,100
164,300
162,500
165,400
164,700
147,100
143,700
143,700
143,700
147,900
157,100
162,700
175,900
176,100
180,800
184,600
178,300
176,200
184,000
183,100
184,600
196,500
205,200
219,700
230,100
243,200
250,300
238,500
228,500
237,600
250,900
268,200
276,100
287,500
263,600
247,900
258,800
262,800
509,600
468,900
470,000
478,700
546,600
577,700
645,500
780,600
659,700
847,600
759,300
744,800
683,300
751,700
722,500
739,000
805,200
931,000
1,068,500
1,161,000
1,281,900
1,353,800
1,169,600
1,083,500
1,170,800
1,383,800
1,620,900
1,619,300
1,887,600
1,510,500
1,222,700
1,328,600
1,473,100
Average After-Tax Income (2011 dollars)
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
14,000
14,000
14,100
13,800
13,500
14,300
14,200
14,600
14,400
14,900
15,100
15,700
15,600
15,500
15,800
15,900
16,800
16,800
17,300
18,100
18,300
18,400
18,900
18,600
18,400
19,000
19,500
19,500
20,300
20,400
19,900
20,100
20,500
26,400
25,600
25,600
25,400
24,400
26,000
25,900
26,400
25,900
26,300
26,700
27,400
27,300
27,700
27,800
27,700
28,900
29,200
29,800
31,800
32,900
32,500
33,000
32,300
32,300
33,500
33,900
34,600
35,400
35,000
34,000
34,600
34,900
37,500
37,000
37,500
37,200
36,900
39,000
39,300
40,300
40,500
41,100
41,600
41,900
41,900
41,900
42,500
42,600
43,900
44,600
46,000
47,100
48,100
48,300
50,300
49,800
49,900
51,900
53,100
53,600
55,600
55,000
54,100
54,200
53,900
50,400
48,900
50,300
51,400
50,900
53,800
54,700
57,000
56,000
56,000
56,800
56,600
56,200
56,800
56,800
58,300
59,300
60,800
62,700
66,400
68,100
69,800
70,100
69,400
70,800
73,000
75,400
76,500
78,500
78,000
77,100
77,400
77,300
109,300
104,100
104,600
109,800
112,000
122,300
131,900
152,400
133,700
143,000
137,400
133,000
127,300
132,000
129,400
133,300
132,400
144,000
153,400
163,600
173,400
175,300
165,400
162,200
171,600
189,800
197,500
201,000
216,500
193,600
176,800
180,700
185,800
37,100
37,400
39,500
42,000
42,900
44,800
46,300
50,400
45,900
47,300
48,200
48,000
46,900
48,200
47,900
48,400
50,700
55,000
58,100
61,700
63,700
63,600
62,400
60,700
62,000
67,600
72,800
76,000
82,400
74,200
70,800
74,100
73,500
65,200
64,800
64,200
65,800
67,000
69,600
70,600
75,500
76,000
78,300
77,800
76,800
75,700
78,900
78,300
80,200
81,200
82,800
84,500
88,600
91,100
92,100
93,600
94,800
96,600
100,100
103,200
104,200
107,100
106,600
106,300
105,300
106,100
80,300
77,900
81,700
82,200
83,600
89,600
89,200
92,900
93,500
94,700
95,900
96,600
97,800
98,200
99,500
100,200
100,100
105,400
109,500
113,700
118,000
122,600
122,000
121,100
123,500
129,400
134,800
137,700
140,700
138,500
137,900
139,300
138,100
108,100
106,500
107,200
111,700
116,300
120,400
126,700
138,800
134,100
139,000
142,300
138,300
137,600
144,400
141,400
141,900
148,600
154,500
166,100
175,800
185,100
190,900
185,700
179,200
188,100
198,400
208,800
214,700
226,000
210,100
200,400
205,900
209,700
319,600
301,800
317,000
345,300
397,700
416,300
471,900
587,600
469,200
605,100
550,800
542,000
496,200
539,100
498,000
500,600
538,300
622,100
729,100
815,400
897,200
954,700
828,700
766,800
842,400
1,000,800
1,165,600
1,168,500
1,398,000
1,123,200
901,300
968,600
1,075,000
Share of Before-Tax Income (Percent)
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
12.6
11.8
10.1
8.1
6.8
7.5
7.1
5.9
5.9
6.1
6.0
6.6
6.6
5.9
6.0
5.5
5.6
4.5
4.2
4.2
4.3
4.6
4.6
4.4
4.4
4.0
3.6
3.1
3.1
3.4
3.0
2.7
3.2
13.6
12.9
12.4
12.3
12.2
11.3
10.9
11.1
13.5
13.3
13.0
12.5
12.6
13.1
13.6
13.6
12.6
11.6
11.0
10.7
10.4
10.2
11.1
11.7
11.6
11.0
9.7
9.3
8.0
9.5
9.7
9.3
9.2
12.9
13.1
13.8
14.3
15.0
14.9
14.7
15.0
17.1
16.4
16.3
17.0
18.5
17.5
17.7
18.8
18.2
17.1
17.1
17.9
18.1
17.6
17.0
17.8
17.4
15.4
15.2
14.7
13.8
15.6
17.0
15.8
15.8
14.2
14.9
15.8
17.5
17.9
19.4
19.5
18.8
19.7
18.4
18.5
18.5
18.7
18.9
18.3
18.2
17.8
17.4
17.1
15.7
15.3
15.7
20.4
20.6
20.6
20.1
18.9
19.2
18.8
21.0
23.4
22.4
21.9
46.8
47.4
48.1
48.1
48.3
47.4
48.1
49.4
44.2
46.4
46.7
46.0
44.3
45.2
45.1
44.7
46.6
50.4
51.5
52.6
52.8
52.7
47.8
46.7
47.1
50.5
53.4
54.6
57.2
51.9
49.3
51.6
51.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
9.8
10.4
10.7
10.7
11.6
10.1
9.4
8.7
9.1
9.6
10.5
10.5
11.0
11.1
11.0
10.6
11.8
11.7
11.6
11.8
11.7
11.8
12.0
12.3
11.6
11.5
12.0
12.0
12.2
12.9
13.8
13.8
13.7
6.7
7.5
8.0
7.8
8.2
8.3
7.4
6.9
6.9
7.2
7.3
7.8
7.7
7.7
8.2
7.4
8.2
8.6
8.6
8.9
8.5
8.4
8.1
7.7
7.9
8.0
8.9
9.0
9.1
8.6
9.1
9.6
9.0
12.5
13.2
13.7
13.1
12.1
11.2
12.2
12.2
12.4
11.7
12.7
12.3
11.7
12.4
11.7
12.1
12.1
12.3
13.1
12.8
12.7
13.5
11.5
10.9
11.0
11.3
11.9
12.9
12.9
11.8
10.8
11.4
11.5
17.8
16.4
15.7
16.4
16.4
17.7
19.1
21.6
15.9
17.9
16.3
15.4
13.9
14.1
14.3
14.6
14.5
17.7
18.2
19.1
20.0
18.9
16.1
15.8
16.6
19.8
20.7
20.6
23.0
18.5
15.5
16.8
17.5
Share of After-Tax Income (Percent)
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
15.0
13.9
11.9
9.3
7.7
8.6
8.2
6.8
6.8
7.0
6.9
7.6
7.5
6.7
6.8
6.3
6.5
5.2
5.0
4.9
5.0
5.4
5.3
5.0
5.0
4.6
4.1
3.6
3.6
3.9
3.4
3.0
3.6
15.6
14.8
14.1
13.8
13.7
12.7
12.3
12.4
15.2
15.0
14.6
14.0
14.0
14.7
15.3
15.5
14.4
13.4
12.8
12.3
12.0
11.8
12.5
13.2
13.0
12.5
11.1
10.6
9.2
10.8
10.8
10.4
10.4
14.1
14.3
15.0
15.4
16.1
16.1
15.9
16.2
18.5
17.8
17.6
18.3
19.9
18.9
19.2
20.5
19.9
19.0
19.0
19.7
20.0
19.4
18.7
19.5
19.1
17.0
16.9
16.3
15.3
17.1
18.6
17.4
17.4
14.7
15.4
16.3
18.1
18.4
20.1
20.2
19.5
20.4
19.0
19.0
19.0
19.2
19.5
18.9
18.8
18.6
18.4
18.0
16.5
15.9
16.4
21.3
21.6
21.5
21.2
20.0
20.4
19.9
22.1
24.5
23.6
23.1
40.8
41.8
42.9
43.7
44.2
43.0
43.8
45.4
39.6
41.8
42.4
41.8
40.2
41.1
40.7
39.9
41.7
45.2
46.5
47.8
48.0
48.0
43.3
42.2
42.8
46.1
48.9
50.2
53.1
47.7
45.5
47.6
47.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
9.6
10.2
10.5
10.6
11.4
10.0
9.2
8.6
8.9
9.4
10.2
10.3
10.7
10.9
10.8
10.4
11.6
11.7
11.5
11.6
11.6
11.7
11.8
12.2
11.5
11.5
12.1
12.1
12.4
12.9
13.8
13.9
13.7
6.4
7.1
7.6
7.5
7.9
7.9
7.0
6.6
6.4
6.8
6.8
7.4
7.2
7.3
7.8
6.9
7.7
8.2
8.2
8.5
8.1
8.0
7.7
7.3
7.5
7.7
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.3
8.7
9.3
8.7
11.2
11.8
12.2
11.9
11.1
10.1
11.2
11.2
11.1
10.6
11.5
11.1
10.6
11.3
10.5
11.0
10.8
11.1
11.9
11.7
11.6
12.3
10.5
9.9
10.1
10.3
10.8
11.9
11.9
10.7
9.9
10.4
10.6
Source: Congressional Budget Office, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49440
Notes: Effective tax rates are calculated by dividing taxes by comprehensive household income. An elderly childless household is
headed by a person age 65 or older with no member under age 18.
Comprehensive household income equals pretax cash income plus income from other sources. Pretax cash income is the sum of
wages, salaries, self-employment income, rents, taxable and nontaxable interest, dividends, realized capital gains, cash transfer
payments, and retirement benefits plus taxes paid by businesses (corporate income taxes and the employer's share of Social
Security, Medicare, and federal unemployment insurance payroll taxes) and employees' contributions to 401(k) retirement plans.
Other sources of income include all in-kind benefits (Medicare, Medicaid, employer-paid health insurance premiums, food stamps,
school lunches and breakfasts, housing assistance, and energy assistance).
Income categories are defined by ranking all people by their comprehensive household income adjusted for household size—that
is, divided by the square root of the household’s size. (A household consists of the people who share a housing unit, regardless of
their relationships.) Quintiles, or fifths, contain equal numbers of people. Households with negative income (business or
investment losses larger than other income) are excluded from the lowest income category but are included in totals.
Individual income taxes are attributed directly to households paying those taxes. Social insurance, or payroll, taxes are attributed
to households paying those taxes directly or paying them indirectly through their employers. Corporate income taxes are attributed
to households according to their share of capital income. Federal excise taxes are attributed to them according to their
consumption of the taxed good or service.
The minimum adjusted income is the lower income boundary for each quintile. Because incomes are adjusted by dividing income
by the square root of household size, an adjusted income range implies different unadjusted income for different size households.
To compute the unadjusted income range for a particular size household, the adjusted income must be multiplied by the square
root of the household size: 1.414 for a two-person household, 1.732 for a three-person household; 2.0 for a four-person
household, 2.236 for a five-person household.
13.6
12.7
12.6
13.8
13.9
15.0
16.4
19.0
13.2
15.1
13.8
13.1
11.7
11.7
11.5
11.6
11.5
14.2
14.9
16.0
16.8
16.0
13.3
12.9
13.8
16.6
17.4
17.5
20.0
15.7
13.0
14.0
14.7