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Census Bureau statistics on income can shed some light on the ongoing debate on income inequality in the United States. Using data from three surveys --- the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), the American Community Survey (ACS) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) --- reports, tables, graphs and maps summarize the way income and wealth are distributed across the population.
For more information on data sources see “Which Data Source to Use” or “Surveys & Programs.”
Two of the most commonly used income distribution measures are the shares of aggregate household income received by each quintile and the Gini index. In addition to these two measures, the Census Bureau also produces estimates of the ratio of income percentiles; the Theil index, the mean logarithmic deviation of income (MLD), and the Atkinson measure. For complete descriptions of each of these see “Income Inequality Metrics."
For assistance, please contact the Census Call Center at 1-800-923-8282 (toll free) or visit ask.census.gov for further information.
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