Richest 20% of Households Control 52% of Household Income

One way to examine incomes in the United States is to divide up the nation's 130 million households into five groups (or quintiles) of equal size based on their annual household income. The Census Bureau does this each year using data from the Current Population Survey. The Census Bureau also tracks the lower income limit of the top 5 percent of households. Here are the results for 2020...

Income bracket of each quintile of households, 2020

Bottom quintile:   $27,026 or less

Second quintile:  $27,027 to $52,179

Third quintile:      $52,180 to $85,076

Fourth quintile:    $85,077 to $141,110

Highest quintile:  $141,111 or more

Top 5 percent:     $273,739 or more

Over the decades, the share of aggregate household income accruing to each of the lower four quintiles has fallen, while the share accruing to the highest quintile has grown. Take a look...

Share of aggregate household income accruing to each quintile in 2020 (and 2000)

Bottom quintile:     3.0% (3.6%)

Second quintile:    8.1% (8.9%)

Third quintile:      14.0% (14.8%)

Fourth quintile:    22.6% (23.0%)

Highest quintile:  52.2% (49.8%)

The richest one-fifth of households controlled 52 percent of all household income in the United States in 2020. Fifty years ago in 1970, the richest one-fifth of households controlled a smaller 43 percent of total household income. The highest quintile surpassed the 50 percent threshold for the first time in 2001 and has consistently controlled the majority since 2008.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Census Bureau's Historical Income Tables: Income Inequality