Shares of income growth accruing to the top 1% during economic expansions, U.S. and by region
| United States | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921–1929 | 45% | 64% | 28% | 43% | 111% |
| 1933–1945 | 15% | 16% | 14% | 15% | 15% |
| 1949–1973 | 7% | 4% | 7% | 8% | 7% |
| 1975–2015 | 45% | 55% | 68% | 32% | 191% |
Notes: Shares greater than 100%—accruing to the top 1% in the West across the three expansions from 1921–1929 and the five expansions from 1975–2015—are the result of falling incomes for the bottom 99% in one expansion during each of these periods, specifically during the expansion from 1924 to 1926 and the expansion from 1975 to 1980. Excluding those two expansions, the fraction of growth accruing to the top 1% over the two remaining expansions from 1921 to 1929 averaged 18%, and the fraction of growth accruing to the top 1% over the four remaining expansions from 1975 to 2015 averaged 50%.
Source: Authors’ analysis of state-level tax data from Sommeiller 2006 extended to 2015 using state-level data from the Internal Revenue Service SOI Tax Stats (various years), Piketty and Saez 2016, and Tcherneva 2014