Spending 7
Means-tested transfers as a percentage of income, by quintile, 2018
| Percentile | Means-tested transfers as a percentage of income |
|---|---|
| Bottom 20% | 23.2% |
| 21–40th | 16.3% |
| Middle 20% | 9.2% |
| 61–80th | 3.6% |
| 81–90th | 1.1% |
| 91–95th | 0.5% |
| 96–99th | 0.3% |
| Top 1% | 0.1% |
Source: Congressional Budget Office, The Distribution of Household Income, 2018 (August 2020).
Supplemental data provided by the Congressional Budget Office with its release of The Distribution of Household Income, 2015 (August 2020). The chart shows what share of pretax income (income after receiving benefits such as Social Security and unemployment payments but before paying taxes) is accounted for by safety net spending.
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