All evidence indicates that one of the biggest factors separating high-income from low-income households is the number of workers in each. The further we look up the income scale, the more likely we are to find two and even three income households (with mom, dad, and children working). For example, here we see that 49 percent of households earning between $50,000 and $55,000 have only one worker, whereas 75 percent of the households making over $200,000 have two or more workers. Two single, middle-income people can become rich on paper simply by saying “I do.”
For more charts like the one below, see the second edition of our chart book, Putting a Face on America's Tax Returns.
