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
Voting rights equal economic progress: The Voting Rights Act and U.S. economic inequality
October 16, 2020
October 16, 2020
The Effect of Political Power on Labor Market Inequality: Evidence from the 1965 Voting Rights Act
October 16, 2020
October 16, 2020
Expert Focus: The consequences of economic inequality among Latinx groups in the United States
October 15, 2020
October 15, 2020
Can policymakers reverse the unequal decline in middle-age U.S. homeownership rates?
October 13, 2020
October 13, 2020
Equitable Growth’s Household Pulse graphs: September 16–28 Edition
October 7, 2020
October 7, 2020
Policy prescriptions for the flawed and unequal retirement savings systems that perpetuate U.S. economic inequality
October 7, 2020
October 7, 2020
New wealth data show that the economic expansion after the Great Recession was a wealthless recovery for many U.S. households
October 5, 2020
October 5, 2020
Equitable Growth’s household pulse graphs: September 2–14 edition
September 24, 2020
September 24, 2020
The hidden costs of stock-market-first U.S. economic policies
September 22, 2020
September 22, 2020
Main Street’s workers, families, and small businesses are now suffering as Wall Street prospers from policies to fight the coronavirus recession
September 17, 2020
September 17, 2020
Wage discrimination and the exploitation of workers in the U.S. labor market
September 15, 2020
September 15, 2020
College football’s inequality dilemma amid the coronavirus recession
September 8, 2020
September 8, 2020
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