Comparing projections of top incomes in Pennsylvania with actual levels, 2000–2015
| Projections based on Internal Revenue Service data | Actual levels as reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Average income of the top 1% | Average income of the top 1% | Projected average income of top 1% as share of actual |
| 2000 | $1,041,790 | $1,172,454 | 89% |
| 2001 | $868,074 | $949,446 | 91% |
| 2002 | $791,563 | $892,757 | 89% |
| 2003 | $838,579 | $965,239 | 87% |
| 2004 | $923,711 | $1,088,868 | 85% |
| 2005 | $1,048,099 | $1,243,919 | 84% |
| 2006 | $1,098,049 | $1,305,464 | 84% |
| 2007 | $1,175,044 | $1,342,349 | 88% |
| 2008 | $967,446 | $1,144,627 | 85% |
| 2009 | $858,668 | $986,881 | 87% |
| 2010 | $953,712 | $1,108,910 | 86% |
| 2011 | $929,963 | $1,078,691 | 86% |
| 2012 | $1,103,890 | $1,228,962 | 90% |
| 2013 | $927,150 | $1,078,707 | 86% |
| 2014 | $1,031,873 | $1,176,955 | 88% |
| 2015 | $1,100,962 | $1,246,584 | 88% |
| % change, 2001–2007 | 35.4% | 41.4% | |
| % change, 2009–2015 | 28.2% | 26.3% | |
| Average, 2000–2015 | 87% | ||
Note: Incomes are in 2015 dollars. Data are for tax units.
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 the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (various years)