Definition: Difference between the estimated distribution of household income and a perfectly equal distribution, measured between 0 and 1 (e.g., in 2019, the Gini coefficient of income inequality among California households was 0.4866).
Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey summary files and public use microdata (Oct. 2020).
Footnote: A Gini coefficient of 0 represents perfect income equality (all households earning an equal share of income), while a coefficient of 1 represents perfect income inequality (one household earning all of the income and the rest earning none). These estimates are based on a survey of the population and are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. The notation S refers to estimates that have been suppressed because the margin of error was 0.02 or greater. N/A means that data are not available.