Throughout the past century, the United States economy has experienced strong growth. GDP per capita, adjusted for inflation, stood at $51,056 in 2014, a marked increase from $28,734 in 1980. However, different economic groups have experienced different levels of growth over the years. How has the nation's economic gains been shared? Using data from the USDA's Economic Research Service and the Paris School of Economics, this Amerifo analysis seeks to find out. (Note: due to different methodologies for collecting data and adjusting for inflation, the USDA ERS and PSE data sets may not be directly comparable.) US real GDP per capita by year (2005 dollars) Source: USDA Economic Research Service All graphs below from the Paris School of Economics data. Average income by income group (2014 dollars) Bottom 90% of earners Top 10-5% of earners Top 5-1% of earners Top 1-0.5% of earners Top 0.5-0.1% of earners Top 0.1-0.01% of earners Top 0.01% of earners Income growth during general economic expansions (inflation adjusted) Cumulative income growth since 1980 Income growth since 2000 Bottom 90% share of income |
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