Who picks up the check.
In 1950, corporations paid about 27 cents of every dollar the government collected. Today it is about 11 cents, and workers' payroll taxes filled the gap.
Who funds the government
Share of federal revenue by source, 1950-2024.
Data table
| 2024 | 49.3% individual | 34.8% payroll | 10.8% corporate | 5.1% other |
| 2020 | 46% individual | 36% payroll | 6.6% corporate | 11.4% other |
| 2010 | 41.5% individual | 40% payroll | 8.9% corporate | 9.6% other |
| 2000 | 49.6% individual | 33% payroll | 10.2% corporate | 7.2% other |
| 1990 | 45% individual | 36% payroll | 9% corporate | 10% other |
| 1980 | 47% individual | 30% payroll | 12.5% corporate | 10.5% other |
| 1970 | 47% individual | 23% payroll | 17% corporate | 13% other |
| 1960 | 44% individual | 15% payroll | 23% corporate | 18% other |
| 1950 | 40.5% individual | 11.8% payroll | 26.5% corporate | 21.2% other |
The Time Machine
Every tier is a multiple of that year's median income, so the ladder compares fairly across the decades. Solid bars are that year's marginal rate; dashed bars are today's.
How the top pulled away
U.S. income and wealth inequality, 1950-2022. Toggle between indexed growth and each group's share of the total.
Real growth since 1950 (=x1). Everyone rose, but the top rose faster; the 1980 marker shows when bottom-income gains began to stall.
Real income - indexed to 1950
Real wealth - indexed to 1950
Top 0.1% wealth x13.3Average wealth per adult grew much faster at the very top than for the middle 40%.
Bottom 50% income x2.4The bottom rose in the postwar boom; most of the stagnation story is after 1980.
Bottom wealth went negativeIn 2010, bottom-50% net wealth was -1.8% of the total because debts exceeded assets.
Source and data table
Source: WID.world, United States, Piketty-Saez-Zucman Distributional National Accounts. Shares are percent of total; growth is indexed to 1950 = 100. Top 1% and top 0.1% are subsets of the top 10%.
| Year | Income B50 | Income M40 | Income T10 | Wealth B50 | Wealth M40 | Wealth T10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 19% | 43% | 38% | 3.1% | 28% | 69% |
| 1960 | 20% | 45% | 35% | 3.6% | 26% | 71% |
| 1970 | 21% | 45% | 34% | 1.0% | 30% | 70% |
| 1980 | 20% | 46% | 34% | 1.0% | 34% | 65% |
| 1990 | 17% | 44% | 39% | 1.7% | 33% | 65% |
| 2000 | 15% | 42% | 43% | 0.6% | 31% | 69% |
| 2010 | 14% | 42% | 44% | -1.8% | 29% | 73% |
| 2022 | 13% | 40% | 47% | 0.9% | 29% | 70% |
The corporate rate, annotated
Statutory top/flat corporate income-tax rate, 1950-2026.
Data table
What people actually pay
Effective total tax rates, 1950-2018.