Economic Inequality

The outbreak has altered life in the U.S. in many ways, but in key respects it has affected black and Hispanic Americans more than others.

Americans with lower incomes are particularly likely to have concerns related to the digital divide and the digital “homework gap.”

Only 23% say they have emergency funds that would last them three months.

64% of parents with children in elementary, middle or high school express at least some concern about their children falling behind.

Around half of Hispanics say they or someone in their household has taken a pay cut or lost a job – or both – because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Nearly one-in-five U.S. adults say they have had a physical reaction at least some or a little of the time when thinking about the outbreak.

24% of civilian workers in the United States, or roughly 33.6 million people, do not have access to paid sick leave.

Overall, 29% of U.S. adults said they have had more advantages in life than others their age; 26% felt they have had fewer advantages.

On the fundamental question of why some people are rich and others are poor, more Americans point to the advantages they possess – or the obstacles they face – rather than their work ethic. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) say the main reason some people are rich is because they have had more advantages […]

Over the past 50 years, the highest-earning 20% of U.S. households have steadily brought in a larger share of the country’s total income.