Economic Inequality

The U.S. has more foreign students enrolled in its colleges and universities than any other country in the world. Explore data about foreign students in the U.S. higher education system.

In the U.S., the racial and ethnic wealth gap has evolved differently for families at different income levels since the Great Recession.

Taxpayers with incomes of $200,000 or more paid well over half (58.8%) of federal income taxes, though they accounted for only 4.5% of all returns filed (6.8% of all taxable returns). By contrast, taxpayers with incomes below $30,000 filed nearly 44% of all returns but paid just 1.4% of all federal income tax.

The official poverty rate last year was close to its pre-Great Recession level, but the share of the U.S. poor in severe poverty increased.

As the congressional debate over Trump's tax overhaul begins, more Americans say tax rates on corporations and higher-income households should be raised rather than lowered.

Women's contributions to U.S. household incomes have grown. Yet, men contribute more of the income in most couples, and this reality aligns with public sentiments.

Millennials trail Baby Boomers and Generation Xers in the number of households they head. But Millennial-run households represent the largest group in some key categories, such as the number in poverty or the number headed by a single mother.

The American middle class is smaller than middle classes across Western Europe, but its income is higher.

Beyond partisan differences over economic policies, there are stark divisions on a fundamental question: What makes someone rich or poor?

As part of a new study, Pew Research Center designed income calculators to help you determine where you fit on the income ladder in Western Europe.