Capital-based income is increasingly concentrated at the top of the U.S. income distribution: Share of capital-based incomes by household income grouping, 1979–2013
| Bottom 90% | 91st-99th percentiles | Top 1% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 39.0% | 30.5% | 30.5% |
| 1980 | 39.7% | 28.9% | 31.4% |
| 1981 | 40.4% | 28.9% | 30.6% |
| 1982 | 41.3% | 25.7% | 33.0% |
| 1983 | 39.9% | 25.9% | 34.3% |
| 1984 | 40.5% | 25.5% | 34.0% |
| 1985 | 38.1% | 25.0% | 36.9% |
| 1986 | 31.5% | 24.1% | 44.4% |
| 1987 | 39.1% | 26.7% | 34.1% |
| 1988 | 35.8% | 25.1% | 39.0% |
| 1989 | 36.0% | 25.2% | 38.8% |
| 1990 | 36.5% | 25.8% | 37.7% |
| 1991 | 38.2% | 26.4% | 35.4% |
| 1992 | 35.4% | 26.0% | 38.6% |
| 1993 | 34.2% | 27.1% | 38.7% |
| 1994 | 33.4% | 26.4% | 40.2% |
| 1995 | 32.9% | 26.3% | 40.7% |
| 1996 | 31.3% | 26.4% | 42.4% |
| 1997 | 29.4% | 26.2% | 44.4% |
| 1998 | 27.8% | 25.7% | 46.6% |
| 1999 | 26.0% | 25.1% | 48.9% |
| 2000 | 25.0% | 24.4% | 50.6% |
| 2001 | 28.0% | 24.4% | 47.5% |
| 2002 | 28.1% | 24.6% | 47.2% |
| 2003 | 26.3% | 24.2% | 49.5% |
| 2004 | 23.1% | 24.0% | 52.9% |
| 2005 | 20.8% | 23.9% | 55.3% |
| 2006 | 20.8% | 23.6% | 55.6% |
| 2007 | 20.9% | 23.6% | 55.6% |
| 2008 | 22.4% | 22.9% | 54.6% |
| 2009 | 26.0% | 23.4% | 50.6% |
| 2010 | 23.7% | 22.1% | 54.1% |
| 2011 | 24.5% | 23.0% | 52.4% |
| 2012 | 20.3% | 21.7% | 58.0% |
| 2013 | 22.6% | 24.0% | 53.4% |
Note: Capital-based income is defined as the sum of the following CBO categories: capital income, capital gains, and business income.
Source: Authors’ analysis of data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO 2016)