China, the largest atmospheric mercury (Hg) emitter in the world, signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2013 to control Hg emissions. Meanwhile, China aims to realize common prosperity, which emphasizes narrowing the income gaps. In this process, the income improvement of low-income groups may challenge atmospheric Hg emission reduction via the surge in consumption. However, little is known about the relationship between residents’ income and Hg emissions. This study quantifies the atmospheric Hg footprints (i.e., atmospheric Hg emissions driven by the consumption) of income groups in urban and rural areas and reveals their socioeconomic drivers during 2007–2017. We observed a positive correlation between per capita Hg footprints and per capita income. Less developed inland regions (e.g., the Northwest and Middle of Yellow River) showed a much steeper growth trend of per capita Hg footprints with the increase of per capita income, with the growth rate ranging from 1.37 μg/¥ to 2.17 μg/¥ in 2017. This indicates that income improvement may threaten Hg emission reduction when pursuing common prosperity. Fortunately, for some developed coastal provinces (e.g., Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangdong), changes in the consumption structure of urban high-income groups and the production structure have contributed significantly to the decrease of Hg emissions. Our findings enlighten the importance of promoting production and consumption transitions in reducing Hg emissions. Collaboration mechanisms should be established to transfer advanced technologies from developed regions to less developed regions. They can complement production-side measures and join forces to realize the win-win of Minamata Convention on Mercury and common prosperity. •Hg footprints of income groups and socioeconomic drivers in China are investigated.•Per capita Hg footprints in less developed regions grew steeper with increase in per capita income.•Consumption transition of high-income groups in some coastal provinces benefited Hg control.•Policy suggestions for win-win of Minamata Convention and common prosperity are proposed.