Average Americans haven’t seen much improvement in their income recently. But according to updated Census Bureau data released on Wednesday, the rich keep getting richer.
The income earned by Americans at the median was $53,700 in 2014, which represents the third consecutive year without any statistically significant increase, following two consecutive years of declines. Other research has found that the typical American worker hasn’t gotten a raise in a decade despite steadily increasing productivity.
But the story is different when broken down by rich and poor. The richest 10 percent of Americans saw their income increase from $150,000 in 2013 to $157,500 in 2014, while the richest 5 percent went from $196,000 to $206,600. Meanwhile, the poorest 10 percent of Americans saw a slight decline from $12,400 to $12,300 and have seen virtually no improvement for decades. The richest Americans take home more of the country’s income than they did in the roaring 1920s.
While income for the richest Americans has rebounded since the recession, that isn’t true for those in the middle or the bottom.
These trends feed growing income inequality. The Gini index, a measure of how equal or unequal the income distribution, stayed virtually the same as last year. The index, where 0 is equal and 1 is completely lopsided, was 0.480 in 2014. But it’s also increased 5.9 percent since 1993, the first year of a more accurate data collection method, showing that inequality is steadily rising.
