---
title: "Family Income Inequality (Gini)"
slug: the-divide
summary: "Family income Gini of 0.46 in 2025, about the same as the 0.457 of 2024"
category: "The Deal"
unit: index
frequency: annual
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: 0.46
latest_period: "2025"
trend: stable
last_updated: "2026-09-22T00:00:00Z"
source: "U.S. Census Bureau data retrieved via FRED"
source_url: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GINIALLRF
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-divide/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Family Income Inequality (Gini) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-divide/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Family Income Inequality (Gini).\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-divide/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Family Income Inequality (Gini).\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-divide/."
---

# Family Income Inequality (Gini)

Also tracked as The Divide.

> Family income Gini of 0.46 in 2025, about the same as the 0.457 of 2024

## Current Reading

As of 2025, Family Income Inequality (Gini) is **0.5** (stable).

Census Bureau Gini index of pretax money income across families, on a scale where 0 is perfect equality and 1 is total inequality. It was 0.457 in 2024, about the same.

## What Changed

- The U.S. family income Gini index was 0.46 in 2025, about the same as the 0.457 of 2024.
- Census prints no margin of error for the family Gini, and it is a different series from the household Gini Census headlines.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2025 | 0.46 |
| 2024 | 0.457 |
| 2023 | 0.452 |
| 2022 | 0.458 |
| 2021 | 0.462 |
| 2020 | 0.458 |
| 2019 | 0.454 |
| 2018 | 0.452 |
| 2017 | 0.458 |
| 2016 | 0.452 |
| 2015 | 0.448 |
| 2014 | 0.452 |

## Historical Context

This series is not comparable end to end, so no all-time extreme or long-run average is published for it. The source changed what it measures on the following date(s):

- 1993: Census changed its income collection method and raised reporting limits for 1993 data, and says comparisons of income inequality that bridge 1992 and 1993 should be avoided. Source: https://www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p60-204.pdf
- 2013: Census Table F-4 gives two 2013 family Gini estimates, from the legacy and the redesigned income questions; the stored 2013 value is the redesigned estimate, comparable with later years, not earlier ones. Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/tables/time-series/historical-income-families/f04.xlsx
- 2017: Census Table F-4 gives two 2017 family Gini estimates; the stored updated-processing value (0.458) is for comparison with 2018 and later, and the legacy value (0.449) for earlier years. Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/tables/time-series/historical-income-families/f04.xlsx

Compare readings only within a single segment. Subtracting across one of these dates measures the change in method, not in household conditions.

## Methodology

This indicator carries annual observations and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau data retrieved via FRED.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

U.S. Census Bureau data retrieved via FRED — [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GINIALLRF](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GINIALLRF)

Data retrieved: 2026-09-22T00:00:00Z

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-divide/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/the-divide.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/the-divide.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-divide.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-divide.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Family Income Inequality (Gini) [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-divide/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Family Income Inequality (Gini)." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-divide/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Family Income Inequality (Gini)." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-divide/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.