This dissertation considers several aspects of the distribution of income and income inequality. It does so by improving estimates of inequality between demographic groups, analyzing factors contributing to US income inequality trends, and estimating the impact of income on health outcomes for individuals in the lower tail of the income distribution. Most empirical studies of earnings and income inequality across demographic groups are based on data from the public use March CPS. However, censoring of high incomes in this data prevent researchers from observing the full distribution. The first essay uses internal CPS data to illustrate how topcoding results in the understatement of income and earnings gaps between men and women, Blacks and Whites, and people with and without disabilities. It also demonstrates how a new series of mean incomes for topcoded observations can be used in conjunction with public use CPS data to closely approximate these internal results. The second essay considers the factors accounting for trends in household income inequality. Using a shift-share approach, this essay analyzes whether income inequality shifts are accounted for by male and female earnings distribution changes or by changing household characteristics. It illustrates that the factors contributing to the rapid rise in household incom