This graphic shows the distribution of gross annual household income. The building's thirty exposed floors are easily divided into quintiles; each income quintile is thereby represented by six floors. Each floor represents the tenth of a third (3.33%) of households in the US and each section of 10 floors represent roughly one third of American society. The floors above the top black line represent those households with incomes of or exceeding $100,000. The floors below the bottom black line, however, represent those households that fell below the poverty threshold. In order to live on the top floor of the American income strata, a household's annual gross income needs to exceed $200,000.

Income distribution has always been a central concern of economic theory and economic policy. Classical economists such as Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo were mainly concerned with factor income distribution, that is, the distribution of income between the main factors of production, land, labour and capital. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (784x1280, 719 KB) Summary I created the graph myself using 2005 US Census Burau Data. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (784x1280, 719 KB) Summary I created the graph myself using 2005 US Census Burau Data. ... Income, generally defined, is the money that is received as a result of the normal business activities of an individual or a business. ... For other persons named Adam Smith, see Adam Smith (disambiguation). ... Rev. ... David Ricardo (April 18, 1772 – September 11, 1823), a political economist, is often credited with systematising economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus, and Adam Smith. ... Factors of production are resources used in the production of goods and services in economics. ...

Modern economists have also addressed this issue, but have been more concerned with the distribution of income across individuals and households. Important theoretical and policy concerns include the relationship between income inequality and economic growth.

The distribution of income within a community may be represented by the Lorenz curve. The Lorenz curve is closely associated with measures of income inequality, such as the Gini coefficient. The Lorenz curve is a graphical representation of the cumulative distribution function of a probability distribution; it is a graph showing the proportion of the distribution assumed by the bottom y% of the values. ... Income inequality metrics or income distribution metrics are techniques used by economists to measure the distribution of income among members of a society. ... Graphical representation of the Gini coefficient The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality of a distribution, defined as the ratio of area between the Lorenz curve of the distribution and, to the area under the uniform distribution. ...

Income distribution in the United States

Main article: Household income in the United States

In the United States, income is distributed somewhat inequally, with those in the top two quintiles earning more than the bottom 60% combined. Yet, the distribution of income is not nearly as polarized as in many developing countries with most of America's earned income resting in the hands of the middle class. For information on the income of individuals please see Personal income in the United States This graphic shows the distribution of gross annual household income. ...

See also

• Household income in the United States
• Income inequality
• Six figure income
• Median household income
• Income quintiles

For information on the income of individuals please see Personal income in the United States This graphic shows the distribution of gross annual household income. ... Income inequality metrics or income distribution metrics are techniques used by economists to measure the distribution of income among members of a society. ... Luxury vehicles are some of the most common status symbols in western society and are often associated with six figure income households or persons. ... The median household income is commonly used to provide data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more. ... This graph shows the American definition of social class according to the New York Times using the quintiles as measurement for class. ...

External links

• The Polarization of the U.S. Labor Market, economics.harvard.edu

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