The chart shows the distribution of American households across five income categories for the years 2007, 2011, and 2015 (figures in millions of households).
Overall, it is notable that the highest income bracket experienced the most significant growth over the period, while the middle-income categories remained relatively stable. Interestingly, the lowest income group also increased substantially.
The $100,000 or more category consistently had one of the largest numbers of households throughout the period. Starting at approximately 30 million in 2007, this bracket dipped slightly to around 28 million in 2011, when all the high-earning groups showed a downshift, while lower ones strengthened their positions, before recovering strongly to reach about 33 million by 2015, making it the fastest-growing category.
In contrast, the $75,000-$99,999 bracket consistently represented the smallest group, remaining relatively steady at approximately 15 million households across all three years. Similarly, the $50,000-$74,999 category showed minimal change, maintaining around 21 million households throughout the entire period.