Chapter contents

• The basic contours of American incomes
  • Family and household money income
    This section contains these charts: 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.4
  • Median family income as a metric of economic performance
    This section contains these charts: 2A | 2B
  • A look at income by income fifths
    This section contains these charts: 2C
  • Median family income by race, ethnicity, and nativity
    This section contains these charts: 2.5 | 2D | 2E
• The Great Recession and American incomes
  • Impact by income group
    This section contains these charts: 2F | 2G | 2H
  • Impact by race and ethnicity
  • Income losses projected for years to come
    This section contains these charts: 2I | 2J
• Rising inequality of American incomes
  • Family income inequality
    This section contains these charts: 2K | 2L
  • Unequal growth of comprehensive household incomes suggests diverging well-being
    This section contains these charts: 2M
  • Sharp rise in income inequality apparent in every major data source
    This section contains these charts: 2.6 | 2AA | 2AB
  • The limited impact of taxes and transfers relative to market income
    This section contains these charts: 2N | 2O | 2P | 2Q | 2.7 | 2R | 2.8 | 2S
  • Factors behind the large rise in inequality of market incomes
    This section contains these charts: 2T | 2.9 | 2U | 2V | 2.10 | 2.11 | 2.12 | 2W | 2X | 2Y
• How much did middle-income living standards actually rise between 1979 and 2007?
  • Measuring living standards at the middle
    This section contains these charts: 2Z
  • Sources of income for the middle fifth
    This section contains these charts: 2.13
  • Income growth for the middle fifth has been driven largely by elderly households’ pension and transfer income
  • Adjusting income for the truer contribution of health care transfers
  • Disproportionate growth of transfers directed toward elderly households
    This section contains these charts: 2.14 | 2.15 | 2.16
  • The role of hours worked and educational upgrading in wage growth
    This section contains these charts: 2.17 | 2.18 | 2.19
  • Little of the growth of middle incomes can be attributed to a well-functioning economy