The charts and maps on this page use statistics from the Income Distributions and Dynamics in America dataset to visualize how income is distributed across dimensions that reflect communities and geographies in the United States.
The tabs organize the data based on four characteristics: race and ethnicity, sex, U.S.- or foreign-born, and age. The menus customize the map and chart to your particular values of interest. First choose the percentile of the earnings distribution you want to see. Next, choose the type of earnings. You then choose the group you want to see values for.
The map displays data for the year you choose, while the line chart displays your selected values over time.
Compare these values with White incomes? Yes No
Compare these values with male incomes? Yes No
Compare these values with U.S.-born incomes? Yes No
Compare these values with incomes of people who are 35-44 years old? Yes No
All earnings are inflation adjusted to 2019 dollars. The race and ethnicity groups we consider are Hispanic, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and non-Hispanic White. The map legend shows a truncated range to reduce the visual impact of outliers.
Income and earnings measures
Individual earnings include wages, tips, bonuses, and other compensation reported in Box 1 of Form W-2, plus deferred compensation reported in Box 12 of Form W-2. Together, this represents what an individual earns through formal employment.
Individuals who do not receive a W-2, either because they are not employed or because they are self-employed, are not represented in the individual-level data.
Household total income sums up all the taxable income reported on Forms 1040 filed by individuals residing at the same address. This includes wage and salary earnings as well as taxable nonwage income (defined below).
The household-level total is then assigned to each adult listed on a 1040 form filed with the common address. Thus, the household-level income statistics in IDDA should be interpreted as measures of total household resources available for individuals.
Households in which no member filed a 1040 form in a given year, for example because each household member’s income is below the threshold required to file taxes, are not represented in the household-level data.
Household total nonwage income is a broad category of taxable income that includes self-employment income, interest and dividends, unemployment insurance, and the taxable components of social security and other retirement income reported on Form 1040. It does not include SNAP benefits or most public assistance.
Disclaimer
The opinions and conclusions expressed here are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau has ensured appropriate access and use of confidential data and has reviewed these results for disclosure avoidance protection (Project 7511151; Disclosure Authorization Numbers CBDRB-FY23-0277, CBDRB-FY23-0373, CBDRB-FY23-CES014-019, and CBDRB-FY23-CES014-016).
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