Interesting data from the SSA: Wage Statistics for 2010

[UCGal]

Wage Statistics for 2010

http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2010

I like looking at data. I thought this was interesting.

Some pullouts:

* average wage was $39,959.30
* median wage was $26,363.55
* the much talked about 1% starts somewhere above $200k/year.

I assume this includes part time workers.
I assume this is individual, rather than households.

No commentary. Just a bunch of data.

[an]

Very interesting data UCGal. With all of the anger toward the scheming 1%, I would have thought their yearly income to be much larger than $200k. How hard is it to make $200k when you own a successful small biz? I wonder how much of the 1% is small biz owners vs wall street execs.

[UCGal]

[quote=AN]Very interesting data UCGal. With all of the anger toward the scheming 1%, I would have thought that # to be much larger than $200k. I wonder how much of the 1% is small biz owners vs wall street execs.[/quote]
Maybe the slogan should change to we are the 99.93768 – to put the line at $1M.

Another interesting note. Less than 100,000 people make 1M or more. Out of a country of 300+ Million people.

[TemekuT]

The data is for earned income, i.e, wages, tips, deferred compensation- items referred to as W-2 income. Wealthy people receive the bulk of their income as rents, royalties, dividends, and capital gains – items referred to as unearned income.

[Anonymous]

TemekuT is right, the SSA data is interesting but it really doesn’t provide a good profile of the income spectrum. IRS data would be much more useful.

[an]

[quote=TemekuT]The data is for earned income, i.e, wages, tips, deferred compensation- items referred to as W-2 income. Wealthy people receive the bulk of their income as rents, royalties, dividends, and capital gains – items referred to as unearned income.[/quote]
Adding in unearned income, I wonder where the bottom of the 1% income would be?

Update: Here’s the IRS data: http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=96981,00.html

In 2009, the 1% is higher than $200k but less than $500k. Above $500k is 0.5%. Above $200k is 2.8%.

CNN just have an article about the 1%: http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/news/economy/occupy_wall_street_income/index.htm?iid=HP_LN, the exact number from the IRS for the top 1% is $343,927. It was $232,581 in 1986.

[Author]

Posts