CBO: Trends in The Distribution of Household Income, 1979–2009

The Congressional Budget Office today released Trends in The Distribution of Household Income, 1979–2009:

Households in the top 1% experienced very rapid growth in after-tax income over the 1979–2009 period

• Peak to peak (1979-2007), their after-tax income grew by over 300%
• Recent recession disproportionately affected highest income households in 2008 and 2009, causing their income to fall by over one-third

Rest of the top quintile has also fared better than the lower four quintiles

After-tax income for the middle three quintiles grew by almost 40% over the 31 years, a little over 1% per year

Lowest income quintile tracked the middle three