{"id":694587,"date":"2026-10-14T09:53:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T13:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=694587"},"modified":"2026-10-14T09:53:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T13:53:05","slug":"trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2026\/10\/14\/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Trends in Income and Wealth Inequality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
About this research<\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center report looks at Americans\u2019 views of economic inequality, including what factors they think contribute to it and who they believe should be responsible for reducing inequality. It also explores trends in income and wealth inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center does research to help the public, the media and decision-makers understand important topics. This analysis builds on our previous work on economic issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The analysis of Americans\u2019 views of economic inequality is based primarily on a Pew Research Center survey of 5,166 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 24-30, 2026. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel<\/a>. The survey is designed to represent the views of all U.S. adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the survey questions<\/a> used for this report, the detailed responses<\/a> and the survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to survey data, the report also examines the trends in the typical income and wealth of lower-, middle- and upper-income households using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other standard government sources.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Most Americans say there\u2019s too much economic inequality in the United States these days. To understand how people\u2019s financial circumstances have changed in recent decades, we looked at trends in income and wealth for lower-, middle- and upper-income households since 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The typical income of lower-, middle- and upper-income households has increased since 2001<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Median U.S. household<\/em> income<\/strong>, by income tier (2024 dollars)<\/em><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Note: Households are assigned to income tiers based on their size-adjusted income, scaled to reflect a three-person household. Revisions to the Current Population Survey affect the comparability of data from 2014 onward. Refer to the methodology for details.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of the Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements (IPUMS).
“Americans’ Views of Economic Inequality, Its Causes and Who Should Fix It”<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Share this chart<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t