Economic inequality is the unequal distribution of income and wealth and it has been rising in the United States in recent decades. Questions about whether and how this rise in inequality affects economic growth and stability are fundamental to Equitable Growth’s work, which explores how economic inequality impacts individuals and families across a wide range of issues, and what policies might address these challenges.
Featured work
Analyzing recent U.S. economic policies using Equitable Growth’s Inequality Tracker
January 22, 2026
January 22, 2026
In conversation with Sabeel Rahman
November 18, 2025
November 18, 2025
Accounting for capital gains in income significantly increases U.S. inequality
July 15, 2025
July 15, 2025
Americans informed about the distributional effects of Republicans’ tax and budget bill overwhelmingly oppose it
July 3, 2025
July 3, 2025
U.S. income and wealth inequality are no longer increasing, but a return to the equitable levels of the mid-20th century isn’t likely anytime soon
January 17, 2023
January 17, 2023
Six charts that explain how inequality in the United States changed over the past 20 years
February 1, 2022
February 1, 2022
Explore Content in Economic Inequality821
Returns in the labor market: A nuanced view of penalties at the intersection of race and gender
August 7, 2018
August 7, 2018
From the Urban Institute: “Place and Opportunity”
June 28, 2018
June 28, 2018
Examining the links between rising wage inequality and the decline of unions
May 31, 2018
May 31, 2018
Issue Brief: Household insecurity matters for U.S. macroeconomic stability
May 16, 2018
May 16, 2018
Household insecurity matters for U.S. macroeconomic stability
May 16, 2018
May 16, 2018
Estimating the marginal propensity to consume using the distributions of income, consumption, and wealth
April 19, 2018
April 19, 2018
How inequalities of wealth matter for consumption
April 19, 2018
April 19, 2018
Seminar Series: Unions and Inequality Over the 20th Century—New Evidence from Survey Data
April 18, 2018 12:15PM - 1:30PM
Factsheet: Gender wage inequality in the United States and what to do about it
April 9, 2018
April 9, 2018
The effects of wealth taxation on wealth accumulation and wealth inequality
April 2, 2018
April 2, 2018
Explore the Equitable Growth network of experts around the country and get answers to today's most pressing questions!