In the course of our projects, we occasionally come across data that is pretty interesting in and of its own accord. In the following chart, we've opted to show the cumulative distribution of individual income for the United States, China and the World, as expressed in terms of U.S. dollars (USD) adjusted for their purchasing power parity (PPP).
Since the data applies for 2013, we've also opted to indicate the U.S. poverty threshold for a single individual for that year, $11,490, and have estimated the income percentile into which someone with that income in the U.S. (21.6), China (94.0) or the World (86.6) would fall.
Additional food for thought: Extended Measures of Well-Being: Living Conditions in the United States: 2011, which gives an indication of the relative wealth of the impoverished portion of the U.S. population.
Data Sources
Hellebrandt, Tomas, Kirkegaard, Jacob Funk, Lardy, Nicholas R., Lawrence, Robert Z., Mauro, Paolo, Merler, Silvia, Miner, Sean, Schott, Jeffrey J. and Veron, Nicolas. Transformation: Lessons, Impact, and the Path Forward. Peterson Institute for International Economics Briefing. [PDF Document]. 9 September 2015.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2013 Poverty Guidelines. [Online Document]. Accessed 27 August 2015.
U.S. Census Bureau. Current Population Survey 2014 Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement. 2013 Person Income Tables. PINC-01. Selected Characteristics of People 15 Years Old and Over by Total Money Income in 2013. Total Work Experience, Both Sexes, All Races. [Excel Spreadsheet]. 16 September 2014.