The U.S. Census Bureau publishes many tables on income distribution. One of many reported features is the evolution of the age and gender distribution of real incomes. In several figures below we illustrate the time history of real mean income since 1974. The most striking feature is that young men between 15 and 24 do not see any improvement in the mean income – only $34 per year. Despite the level of mean income for young women is lower than that for young men the former experience a three times faster growth.
An interesting feature, which is likely the legacy of the 1960s and 1970s, is a much faster growth of mean income for men over 65 years of age. Other age groups are characterized by steady improvements in income inequality. The most successful women (in relative terms) are between 25 and 34 years of age. Their mean income has been increasing by ~$400 per year compared to only $70 per year for men of the same age. If this tendency holds beyond 2040, the mean income trends will intercept. For other age groups it may happen after 2050.
We have described these and many other phenomena of personal income distribution in our previous posts and papers.
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