Quick Question: What percentage of Americans do you think has your income level?
I believe that most Americans do not understand the breakdown of income in this country. So here is a nice chart to help you understand how poor most Americans are. (Shoutout to Danny for the basic info and the IRS for making this information public.)
Source: IRS Income Tax Statistics
Data – 130,076,445 Total income tax returns from 2002
| Gross Income | Americans | % of Population |
| $1 – $50,000 | 92,594,960 | 71.185% |
| $50,000 – $75,000 | 17,396,916 | 13.374% |
| $75,000 – $100,000 | 9,247,839 | 7.110% |
| $100,000 – $200,000 | 8,422,603 | 6.475% |
| $200,000 – $500,000 | 1,908,466 | 1.467% |
| $500,000 – $1,000,000 | 336,684 | 0.259% |
| $1,000,000 – $1,500,000 | 78,121 | 0.060% |
| $1,500,000 – $2,000,000 | 31,316 | 0.024% |
| $2,000,000 – $5,000,000 | 44,205 | 0.034% |
| $5,000,000 – $10,000,000 | 10,026 | 0.008% |
| $10,000,000 + | 5,309 | 0.004% |
wow! we are poor
Pingback: Household Income, 2006 | commadot.com
Pingback: Household Income, 2006 | commadot.com
You need to update your numbers. See: http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032008/hhinc/new01_001.htm
What p-e-r-c-e-n-t-a-g-e of U.S. taxes are paid by the 5,309 Americans (0.004%) in the $100,000,000 tax bracket ?????
Evalynn – I can’t find all the data. your sited info only goes up to ?$88k
The 2002 chart (above) is “130,076,445 Total income tax returns from 2002″, while Evalynn’s website has “Selected Characteristics of Households, by Total Money Income in 2007″ for 116,783 Households. So we have an ‘Apples and Oranges’ situation where you can not appropriately make comparisons.
I like the clear, concise format of the 2002 chart, however the column headings “Americans” and “% of Population” should be “Taxpayers” and “% of Taxpayers”.
The 2006 website Evalynn gave is more current, but only covers 116,783 Households, has too, too much other information. Unfortunately the income groupings are not as clear as the original 2002 chart. The first 3 income groups ($1 – $100, 000) have been divided into 40 groups each covering a $2500 range, while the top 8 income groups ($100,000 – $10,000,000+) are lumped together into 1 group covering at least a $10,000,000 range, or is it $100,000,000 plus!
An update of the 2002 chart, using the same groupings – or better yet, splitting the $200,000 – $500,000 into $200,000 – $250,000 and $250,000 – $500,000, would be best for comparisons and income trend evaluations, especially since the new administration has drawn a line at the $250,000 income level.
Neither table has total population, total of all income, and % of total income (per group). An additional column for ‘% of all income’ and a final row for totals would complete the 2002 style table. It would be desirable for such a Table to be available for each year, inflation adjusted income groups would be needed if these tables would cover from as far back as possible, at least form the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, certainly from 1929 through the present.
When making comparisons don’t forget that dollar figures, even if both charts showed the same breakdowns, do not take into account the reduced value of 2007 vs 2002 dollars’ buying power due to the higher cost of living (inflation). Also the same dollar values, even if inflation adjusted, would reflect reduced ‘wealth’ due to the higher standard of living.
Dude, this post is from 2004. If you have up to date info, publish it. The point of this post is that the VAST majority of people have very little money and the super, uber rich have too much. If the super rich (billionaires had 1 less billion each, the world would be a better place.
Yes Dude,
I do agree with that point, and it is still valid.
What I was trying to say is that we still need that information in a more complete way (the additions I suggested) and on an ongoing (yearly) basis, rather than one time (2002).
Yearly versions of the table would better illustrate the poiint.
My hope was that whoever put together the 2002 table would revive and update it annually. Was that you?
Perhaps an economics major could put together the table for all the years past as part of a thesis.
Better yet, the Obama administration should have the IRS do it. Currently it seems that the IRS focuses on splitting up $100,000 and less into 40 meaningless subgroups, while obscuring income stratification data for $100,000 and up in 1 meaningless group.
The thing you have to remember is that this is REPORTED income on IRS forms. In college financial aid, I look at income tax returns all the time for business people who live in very expensive houses, have lots of savings, and claim they only earned 30 or 40,000 a year at their businesses. There is a ton of income hidden in business tax returns that is not reflected in these charts. If you could ever get a valid report of net worth combined with income, that would mean something. Then there is the issue of pensions. Workers with pensions actually “earn” much more than those of us with equivalent W2s but saving for retirement on our own.
The super rich are that way because they know how to make money work for them. Once you learn how it is hard not to become rich. Those who make that much money have taken risks that most won’t dare to take, and therefore they have rewards that most don’t have. Even those who make more that 100k plus have learned that secret, or have two incomes that equal that. What makes me mad is that people think that because I make more money I should have to pay a higher percentage in my taxes. How is that fair. The reason that business people can claim less is because that is their income, the business makes the money not them. Learn how to use your LLC and your C corp/S corps so that you can make that kind of money too. Take some risk and live the “American dream”. Find an idea, make it yours, and develop it into a multi-million dollar business. Forget about how that billionaire should give up one billion to all us poor folks that need handouts from Obama and his socialistic cabinet. Get off your butts and stop crying about how unfair life is and take a slice of the good life for yourself. Make something happen.
@AJ: So Paris Hilton was born knowing how to make money work for her?? Because last I checked she was rich from the day she was born. The strongest indicator of what income class a person will have when they are older is their parents income range. Changing classes in any country (including the US) is a difficult task and only happens a small percentage of the time.
Given your philosophy, we would be living in a perpetual Great Depression where only a few have money and the rest just live in filth.
No one is crying about how life is unfair except you. The majority of people in this country want rich people to pay more taxes. Stop crying about how life is unfair and suck it up. Otherwise we will form a mob and ransack your McMansions.
Actually, you make me laugh. Go watch Fox News, Scrooge McDuck.
@ Glen. First of all, I don’t make a lot of money. I am poor. I just graduated from college and hope to someday have a mcmansion, but I’m not gonna complain about not having money, I will surround myself with people who do, copy what they do, and make millions.
Second, I know at least 45 people in my life who have completely changed their “class” from that of their parents, my father being one of them. He comes from a family of poor farmers, my dad decided he didn’t want that and he got into sales, worked his butt off, and has made over a million per year for the past 13 years. I have friends who have gone out from poor or middle class families, started their own businesses, and are now millionaires themselves. That is the beauty of this country, you can do that. To quote a favorite movie of mine”You can change your stars”
Granted, Paris Hilton was born into money, and doesn’t have to worry about it like the rest of us do. Also, those who are born into money like that may have a better opportunity to facilitate making more money because they have the means to do so. BUT, Paris has created an image for herself and her sister and they have created products for their niche. If it is them or a team of financial advisers I can’t say, but she brings in her own pretty penny I’m sure.
As for the Scrooge comment. I’d like you to know that even as a poor man I put 10% of my gross income to charity, and will continue to do so. That is on top of my taxes. Is that generous enough for you, or do you want a personal check?
What do you do? The biggest curse in America is that people are too lazy and all they want is a handout because somehow those who make more than them owe it to them. As if those who make more than them don’t provide a job, and a wage for them already. At some point most business owners took large risks, if it didn’t turn out they probably got screwed, but if that risk panned out they run successful businesses, providing jobs for you and me. You’ve heard the old saying, ” If you give a man a fish he’ll eat for a day, if you teach a man to fish he’ll feast for a lifetime.” That’s my mentality, not that the rich aren’t lazy, because there are some who are. Not that the poor are lazy, because there are many who aren’t. But blaming others and expecting handouts is not the answer. If you don’t like your situation, change it.
There is a Tip Jar on the right.
Optimism is good for the soul, so go for it. I wish you the best of luck.
@AJ . . the problem with this country is people like you that you assume that everyone wants a handout. Whereas in reality people just want to be treated fairly. There is no reason in this wealthy country that a child should die from an infected tooth because his parent had no health care coverage or money and medicaid doesn’t cover dental. Google it. This country needs well educated (high school) and healthy people to do the work so entrepreneurs have people to work for them. As my brother used to say, someone has to work at McDonald’s so we can eat there. Apply that saying to all the other low/lower wage jobs/non-college jobs.
When you look at all the surveys whether they be happiness, adult life span, infant mortality etc., the U.S. is never first and frequently pretty far down on the list.
This selfishness culture is not sustainable.