Majority of Americans prefer spread-out communities with big houses
55% of Americans say they would prefer to live in a community where houses are larger and farther away from amenities – compared to 44% who say the opposite.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Income, Wealth & Poverty
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Income, Wealth & Poverty
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Incomes of whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians in the U.S., 1970 and 2016
The charts below show the distributions of white, black, Hispanic and Asian adults in the U.S. by their incomes in 1970 and 2016.
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Income Inequality in the U.S. Is Rising Most Rapidly Among Asians
The gap in the standard of living between Asians near the top and the bottom of the income ladder nearly doubled from 1970 to
2016. Amid rising inequality overall, Asians displaced blacks as the most economically divided major U.S. racial or ethnic group. -
What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities
Despite widening gaps in politics and demographics, Americans across community types have a lot in common in key facets of their lives.
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Positive Views of Economy Surge, Driven by Major Shifts Among Republicans
Americans’ views of national economic conditions continue to improve, with the share saying the economy is in good or excellent condition now at its highest point in nearly two decades. The overall rise in positive assessments seen over the last year is driven by the shifting views of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Nearly three-quarters of […]
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Majorities Say Government Does Too Little for Older People, the Poor and the Middle Class
Majorities of Americans say the federal government does not provide enough help for older people (65%), poor people (62%) and the middle class (61%). By contrast, nearly two-thirds (64%) say the government provides too much help for wealthy people.
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Views of Job Situation Improve Sharply, but Many Still Say They’re Falling Behind Financially
Currently, 50% of Americans say there are plenty of jobs available in their communities – the highest number saying that jobs are plentiful in Pew Research Center surveys dating to 2001.
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How wealth inequality has changed in the U.S. since the Great Recession, by race, ethnicity and income
In the U.S., the racial and ethnic wealth gap has evolved differently for families at different income levels since the Great Recession.
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Most think the ‘American dream’ is within reach for them
Most Americans say they have achieved the “American dream” or are on their way to achieving it. Yet, the American dream means different things to different people.
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A closer look at who did (and didn’t) pay U.S. income tax in 2015
Taxpayers with incomes of $200,000 or more paid well over half (58.8%) of federal income taxes, though they accounted for only 4.5% of all returns filed (6.8% of all taxable returns). By contrast, taxpayers with incomes below $30,000 filed nearly 44% of all returns but paid just 1.4% of all federal income tax.
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Americans deepest in poverty lost more ground in 2016
The official poverty rate last year was close to its pre-Great Recession level, but the share of the U.S. poor in severe poverty increased.
