How the American middle class has changed in the past five decades
The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new analysis.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new analysis.
In the United States, the transience of economic status varies significantly across racial and ethnic groups and by level of education.
Among all Asian origin groups in the U.S., Chinese American households had the highest income inequality in 2022.
17% of the global population could be considered middle income in 2020. Most people were either low income (51%) or poor (10%).
The course of the pandemic in India and China will have a substantial effect on changes in the distribution of income at the global level.
Fewer than half of Black adults say they have a three-month emergency fund, and some have taken multiple jobs to make ends meet.
About half of U.S. adults lived in middle-income households in 2018, according to our new analysis of government data.
Since 2000, there has been a downward trend in average effective tax rates for all but the richest taxpayers.
Seven-in-ten U.S. adults say the U.S. economic system unfairly favors powerful interests. Less than a third say the system is generally fair.
Over the past 50 years, the highest-earning 20% of U.S. households have steadily brought in a larger share of the country’s total income.
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