20-Jan-15
Number of Households, Average Income and Income Shares, and Income Category
Minimums for All 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
Percentiles
96th - 99th
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
18.0
18.2
18.0
17.6
17.5
18.7
18.5
18.6
17.9
18.1
18.1
18.6
18.8
18.5
18.8
18.8
19.4
19.5
19.8
20.2
20.5
21.4
21.5
21.9
22.0
22.4
22.7
22.4
23.4
23.4
22.7
23.3
24.4
15.9
16.1
16.3
16.4
16.9
16.9
17.3
17.6
18.7
19.2
19.2
19.1
19.3
19.6
19.7
20.3
20.1
20.5
20.7
20.8
20.8
21.5
21.8
22.3
22.6
23.0
22.9
23.4
23.2
23.5
23.6
23.9
24.2
15.0
15.2
15.7
16.0
16.4
16.6
16.9
17.3
17.8
18.1
18.4
18.4
18.9
19.0
19.2
19.9
19.8
20.1
20.4
20.9
21.0
21.7
21.5
22.0
22.3
22.4
22.8
23.4
23.3
23.3
23.7
23.8
24.2
15.4
15.7
15.8
16.1
16.7
16.9
17.2
17.4
17.9
18.3
18.4
18.7
18.7
18.9
19.1
19.5
19.6
19.9
20.0
20.3
20.5
21.1
21.8
22.0
22.0
22.3
22.6
23.0
22.9
23.0
23.3
23.4
23.9
16.6
17.0
17.5
17.7
17.9
17.7
18.4
18.5
18.6
19.0
19.1
19.5
19.8
20.0
20.1
20.3
20.5
20.9
21.3
21.5
21.7
22.3
22.4
22.6
22.7
22.8
23.1
23.5
23.6
23.5
23.6
23.7
24.0
81.1
82.6
83.8
84.3
85.8
87.2
88.8
89.9
91.4
93.1
93.6
94.6
96.0
96.3
97.3
99.1
99.7
101.1
102.6
104.0
104.8
108.3
109.4
111.4
112.1
113.3
114.5
116.1
116.9
117.3
117.6
118.7
121.2
8.1
8.3
8.5
8.6
8.7
8.7
9.0
9.0
9.2
9.4
9.4
9.6
9.8
9.8
9.9
10.0
10.0
10.3
10.6
10.7
10.7
11.0
11.1
11.1
11.3
11.3
11.4
11.6
11.7
11.6
11.8
11.8
12.0
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.5
4.5
4.7
4.7
4.7
4.8
4.8
4.9
5.0
5.0
5.1
5.2
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.7
5.7
5.8
5.9
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.9
6.0
6.1
3.4
3.5
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.6
3.8
3.8
3.8
3.9
3.9
4.0
4.1
4.1
4.1
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.3
4.3
4.4
4.6
4.5
4.7
4.6
4.6
4.6
4.8
4.8
4.8
4.8
4.8
4.8
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.0
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
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
17,600
17,100
16,800
16,500
16,100
16,700
16,900
17,000
17,000
17,400
18,000
18,900
19,200
19,300
19,700
19,800
20,700
20,600
21,000
21,900
22,300
21,700
22,400
21,900
21,800
22,400
23,100
24,000
24,800
24,400
24,400
24,700
24,600
35,900
34,600
34,400
33,700
32,500
34,900
34,600
35,200
33,900
34,400
35,100
36,500
35,900
35,900
36,500
36,600
38,500
38,800
39,600
41,400
42,800
42,400
43,300
42,400
42,200
43,700
44,800
45,500
47,200
45,500
45,000
45,300
45,300
53,700
52,000
51,600
50,700
49,800
52,700
52,900
54,000
53,800
54,600
55,200
55,500
54,700
55,000
55,500
55,700
57,700
58,500
59,700
61,300
63,300
63,400
64,800
63,500
63,600
66,100
67,100
67,900
70,000
67,900
66,800
67,000
66,400
72,700
70,700
71,500
70,700
70,100
73,900
74,000
76,600
77,000
77,800
78,700
78,200
77,700
78,300
79,100
80,300
82,000
83,800
85,800
89,500
92,200
93,700
92,800
91,300
92,500
95,800
97,500
99,400
102,000
99,300
97,400
97,800
97,500
137,700
133,900
133,300
134,400
139,200
151,000
153,000
171,700
162,600
174,000
173,600
169,500
163,700
171,100
171,100
174,800
183,500
193,900
206,000
220,000
234,100
245,600
224,100
213,600
220,600
240,600
261,200
272,800
282,800
256,000
232,600
244,900
245,700
62,700
60,900
61,000
61,100
61,500
65,000
65,900
70,600
68,500
71,300
71,900
71,700
70,200
72,100
72,500
73,400
76,500
79,400
82,900
87,200
91,500
93,700
89,600
86,100
87,700
93,000
98,100
101,700
104,600
97,200
91,900
94,400
93,900
94,400
92,200
92,000
92,000
92,900
99,000
98,300
103,300
104,500
105,800
107,400
106,100
104,600
106,000
107,300
109,400
112,600
114,900
117,700
122,600
127,400
130,100
128,900
127,400
128,800
134,000
136,900
140,600
143,000
140,100
137,200
137,800
138,800
116,500
114,300
114,500
113,500
116,500
125,700
125,100
131,200
133,900
135,800
138,600
135,700
134,800
137,200
138,400
140,800
145,000
150,500
156,000
162,600
169,700
175,000
170,300
167,300
170,500
177,100
184,200
189,100
194,000
187,400
182,600
185,900
186,700
168,700
162,900
161,000
161,900
166,800
180,900
182,900
200,100
198,200
205,300
209,000
203,600
199,600
207,200
208,200
212,900
224,300
233,600
249,400
263,600
276,100
284,200
268,500
258,000
266,900
283,700
306,200
315,900
327,200
301,600
283,300
293,200
299,000
529,300
505,800
505,500
532,200
583,700
646,300
690,300
902,200
730,800
914,900
853,300
824,600
739,700
838,400
805,800
829,800
925,700
1,023,300
1,179,900
1,339,400
1,460,400
1,604,200
1,279,100
1,134,100
1,206,000
1,440,500
1,744,800
1,890,700
1,986,000
1,618,200
1,266,900
1,469,200
1,453,100
Number of Households, Average Income and Income Shares, and Income Category
Minimums for All 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
Percentiles
96th - 99th
Percentiles
87,300
85,200
85,000
86,600
89,800
96,800
95,800
100,500
101,300
102,900
105,200
103,200
102,200
104,400
104,800
106,000
108,800
112,900
116,700
121,900
126,700
130,700
128,700
127,500
131,900
137,000
142,400
145,900
150,400
146,800
144,100
145,800
147,300
122,900
118,300
117,100
122,100
127,500
138,200
139,600
152,800
146,800
153,000
156,200
152,300
149,000
154,200
153,400
156,000
163,300
169,500
180,700
191,300
199,100
204,900
196,900
190,700
200,200
211,800
227,100
233,900
244,200
227,200
214,900
220,400
226,400
Top 1%
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
16,300
15,800
15,500
15,300
14,800
15,200
15,300
15,500
15,600
16,000
16,700
17,300
17,600
17,800
18,100
18,500
19,300
19,300
19,600
20,400
20,800
20,200
21,100
20,700
20,600
21,200
21,900
22,600
23,500
24,100
24,100
24,300
24,100
30,700
29,700
29,300
29,100
28,100
29,900
29,600
30,200
29,400
29,700
30,400
31,300
31,000
31,300
31,900
32,000
33,600
33,900
34,600
36,300
37,400
37,200
38,600
38,000
38,300
39,500
40,400
40,900
42,300
42,200
42,000
42,000
42,100
43,600
42,200
41,700
41,600
41,200
43,300
43,300
44,300
44,400
44,900
45,400
45,700
45,200
45,600
46,000
46,100
47,800
48,600
49,400
51,100
52,800
53,000
55,100
54,400
54,900
57,000
57,800
58,300
60,200
60,100
59,400
59,300
59,000
57,000
55,300
55,500
56,100
56,000
58,900
58,900
60,900
61,500
61,700
62,500
62,000
61,700
62,500
63,000
63,800
65,100
66,600
68,100
71,100
73,200
74,400
75,300
74,600
76,400
79,100
80,400
81,800
84,100
83,800
82,800
82,500
82,600
100,500
97,800
97,800
101,900
106,300
115,000
116,500
131,300
121,000
129,800
130,100
127,200
122,600
127,600
125,800
127,400
133,000
140,100
148,800
159,700
169,200
177,500
164,600
158,400
166,100
180,600
194,900
203,400
213,000
195,400
178,700
186,200
188,200
48,900
47,500
47,500
48,600
49,100
51,600
52,300
56,000
53,900
56,000
56,700
56,500
55,400
56,900
56,800
57,300
59,500
61,700
64,200
67,800
70,900
72,500
70,800
68,700
70,700
74,700
78,400
81,000
83,800
79,600
76,000
77,300
77,300
72,200
70,200
69,500
71,200
72,400
76,900
76,200
79,900
80,600
81,400
82,800
81,800
80,800
82,000
83,100
84,200
86,500
88,400
90,100
94,000
97,500
99,600
100,100
99,900
102,500
106,500
108,700
111,300
113,600
113,300
111,600
111,300
112,900
343,700
338,500
351,600
389,900
427,600
471,700
510,000
680,400
509,200
650,000
612,200
593,200
524,500
586,900
535,900
541,100
598,700
662,900
777,200
902,200
981,300
1,084,400
867,900
770,900
838,900
1,007,300
1,214,500
1,322,800
1,423,100
1,163,200
900,900
1,037,300
1,031,900
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
6.2
6.2
5.9
5.7
5.4
5.5
5.3
5.0
4.9
4.7
4.9
5.2
5.4
5.1
5.3
5.1
5.3
5.0
4.9
4.9
4.8
4.6
4.9
5.0
4.9
4.7
4.7
4.5
4.8
5.0
5.1
5.1
5.3
11.2
11.1
11.0
10.7
10.4
10.4
10.2
9.8
10.1
9.9
10.0
10.2
10.3
10.1
10.2
10.2
10.2
9.9
9.7
9.5
9.3
9.0
9.6
9.9
9.7
9.5
9.1
9.0
9.0
9.4
9.8
9.6
9.6
15.8
15.8
15.9
15.7
15.5
15.4
15.2
14.7
15.3
14.9
15.0
15.0
15.4
15.1
15.1
15.2
15.0
14.6
14.3
14.1
13.8
13.5
14.2
14.6
14.4
14.0
13.6
13.4
13.3
13.9
14.6
14.2
14.1
22.0
22.1
22.1
22.1
22.1
22.0
21.8
21.1
22.0
21.4
21.5
21.5
21.6
21.3
21.4
21.5
21.1
20.7
20.2
20.0
19.7
19.5
20.6
21.0
20.7
20.2
19.6
19.3
19.1
20.1
21.1
20.4
20.4
44.9
45.2
45.6
46.3
47.2
47.3
48.1
50.1
48.4
49.8
49.3
48.8
48.2
49.1
48.8
48.8
49.3
50.4
51.6
52.1
53.0
54.0
51.3
50.4
51.0
52.2
53.6
54.3
54.6
52.8
50.8
51.9
51.9
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
15.0
15.1
15.3
15.4
15.4
15.2
15.2
14.7
15.3
15.0
15.1
15.0
15.1
15.0
15.0
15.0
14.8
14.7
14.6
14.4
14.2
14.1
14.6
14.8
14.8
14.4
13.9
13.8
13.7
14.3
14.9
14.6
14.6
9.7
9.8
9.9
10.0
10.0
9.9
9.9
9.8
10.0
9.8
9.9
9.9
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
9.9
9.9
9.8
9.7
9.7
9.9
10.0
9.9
9.7
9.6
9.6
9.5
9.8
10.1
9.9
10.0
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.5
11.7
11.6
11.8
12.0
12.0
11.9
12.1
12.0
12.1
12.2
12.2
12.1
12.3
12.4
12.5
12.5
12.8
12.7
12.5
12.6
12.5
12.4
12.7
12.8
12.7
12.6
12.5
12.5
12.7
8.9
8.8
8.9
9.4
10.1
10.5
11.2
13.7
11.0
13.1
12.2
11.9
11.0
12.0
11.6
11.7
12.2
13.4
14.5
15.3
16.3
17.4
14.4
13.1
13.8
15.6
17.4
18.1
18.7
16.0
13.3
14.9
14.6
Number of Households, Average Income and Income Shares, and Income Category
Minimums for All 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
Percentiles
96th - 99th
Percentiles
Top 1%
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
7.4
7.3
7.0
6.6
6.1
6.3
6.1
5.7
5.7
5.6
5.7
6.0
6.2
6.0
6.2
6.1
6.3
6.0
5.9
5.8
5.7
5.5
5.9
5.9
5.7
5.6
5.5
5.4
5.6
6.0
6.1
6.2
6.3
12.3
12.2
12.0
11.7
11.3
11.2
11.0
10.5
11.2
10.9
11.0
11.2
11.3
11.2
11.4
11.4
11.4
11.2
10.9
10.7
10.5
10.2
10.9
11.1
10.9
10.7
10.3
10.2
10.0
10.6
11.1
10.9
10.9
16.5
16.4
16.5
16.2
16.0
15.9
15.7
15.2
16.1
15.6
15.7
15.7
16.1
15.8
15.9
16.1
15.9
15.6
15.3
15.1
14.9
14.6
15.3
15.6
15.5
15.1
14.7
14.5
14.3
15.0
15.7
15.4
15.2
22.2
22.1
22.1
22.1
22.1
22.1
21.8
21.1
22.4
21.7
21.7
21.7
21.8
21.6
21.8
21.9
21.5
21.2
20.7
20.4
20.2
20.0
21.2
21.5
21.2
20.8
20.2
20.0
19.6
20.7
21.6
21.0
21.0
42.0
42.4
43.0
44.1
45.2
45.3
46.2
48.2
45.7
47.3
46.9
46.5
45.7
46.5
45.8
45.5
45.9
46.9
48.1
48.7
49.5
50.5
47.7
46.8
47.6
48.7
50.1
50.8
51.4
49.1
47.2
48.1
48.2
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
14.7
14.8
14.8
15.0
15.0
14.9
14.8
14.3
15.0
14.7
14.7
14.7
14.8
14.7
14.8
14.8
14.6
14.6
14.5
14.2
14.1
14.0
14.3
14.5
14.6
14.2
13.8
13.7
13.6
14.1
14.7
14.3
14.4
9.4
9.4
9.4
9.6
9.7
9.6
9.6
9.4
9.6
9.5
9.6
9.5
9.6
9.6
9.7
9.6
9.6
9.5
9.6
9.5
9.4
9.4
9.5
9.5
9.5
9.4
9.3
9.3
9.2
9.4
9.6
9.5
9.6
10.5
10.6
10.8
10.9
11.2
11.2
11.3
11.5
11.3
11.3
11.5
11.4
11.5
11.5
11.4
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
11.7
11.9
11.9
11.6
11.6
11.6
11.6
11.8
11.9
11.8
11.6
11.4
11.5
11.7
Source: Congressional Budget Office, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49440
Notes: Effective tax rates are calculated by dividing taxes by comprehensive household income.
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.
7.4
7.6
7.9
8.6
9.3
9.7
10.4
13.0
9.7
11.8
11.1
10.8
9.9
10.6
9.8
9.7
10.1
11.2
12.3
13.3
14.1
15.2
12.3
11.1
11.9
13.6
15.2
15.9
16.7
14.1
11.5
12.8
12.6