This statistic shows the median household income in the United States from 1970 to 2020, by income tier. In 2020, the median household income for the middle class stood at 90,131 U.S. dollars, which was approximately a 50 percent increase from 1970. However, the median income of upper income households in the U.S. increased by almost 70 percent compared to 1970.

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Personal Income in the United States (MEPAINUSA672N) from 1974 to 2023 about personal income, personal, median, income, real, and USA.

Since 1970, net national incomes per capita have grown in each region of the world. North America has experienced the largest increase, growing from nearly 4,500 U.S. dollars per capita in 1970 to $57,300 per capita in 2021. Europe and Central Asia follow behind North America, growing from 1,200 dollars per capita in 1970 to 22,000 in 2021. Other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia have not grown as high, but their growth is still significant, with net national incomes per capita in 2021 growing to between 10 and 20 times their 1970 levels.

Wages in the United States increased to 31.18 USD/Hour in May from 31.06 USD/Hour in April of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Average Hourly Wages - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In 2023, the usual median hourly rate of a worker's wage in the United States was 19.24 U.S. dollars, a decrease from the previous year. Dollar value is based on 2023 U.S. dollars. In 1979, the median hourly earnings in the U.S. was 17.48 dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Family Income in the United States (MEFAINUSA672N) from 1953 to 2023 about family, median, income, real, and USA.

When adjusted for inflation, the 2024 federal minimum wage in the United States is over 40 percent lower than the minimum wage in 1970. Although the real dollar minimum wage in 1970 was only 1.60 U.S. dollars, when expressed in nominal 2024 dollars this increases to 13.05 U.S. dollars. This is a significant difference from the federal minimum wage in 2024 of 7.25 U.S. dollars.

Wages in China increased to 120698 CNY/Year in 2023 from 114029 CNY/Year in 2022. This dataset provides - China Average Yearly Wages - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly real earnings: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over (LES1252881600Q) from Q1 1979 to Q1 2025 about full-time, salaries, workers, earnings, 16 years +, wages, median, real, employment, and USA.

In 2023, the median hourly earnings of wage and salary workers in the United States was 19.24 U.S. dollars. This is an increase from 1979, when median hourly earnings were at 4.44 U.S. dollars. Hourly Workers The United States national minimum wage is 7.25 U.S. dollars per hour, which has been the minimum wage since 2009. However, each state has the agency to set their state minimum wage. Furthermore, some cities are able to create their minimum wage. Many argue that the minimum wage is too low and should be raised, because it is not considered a living wage. There has been a movement to raise the minimum wage to 15 U.S. dollars per hour, called “Fight for 15” which began in the early 2010s. While there has been no movement at the federal level, some states have moved to increase their minimum wages, with at least three states and the District of Columbia setting minimum wage rates at or above 15 dollars per hour. More recently, some proponents of increasing the minimum wage say that 15 dollars is too low, and lawmakers should strive toward a higher goal, especially given that a 2021 analysis found that the minimum wage in the U.S. should be 22.88 U.S. dollars if it grew at the same rate as economic productivity. Salary Workers On the other hand, salary workers in the United States do not get paid on an hourly basis. The median weekly earnings of salary workers have significantly increased since 1979. Asian salary workers had the highest hourly earnings in the U.S. in 2021. Among female salary workers, those ages 45 to 54 years old had the highest median hourly earnings in 2021, likewise for male salary workers.

About 50.4 percent of the household income of private households in the U.S. were earned by the highest quintile in 2023, which are the upper 20 percent of the workers. In contrast to that, in the same year, only 3.5 percent of the household income was earned by the lowest quintile. This relation between the quintiles is indicative of the level of income inequality in the United States. Income inequalityIncome inequality is a big topic for public discussion in the United States. About 65 percent of U.S. Americans think that the gap between the rich and the poor has gotten larger in the past ten years. This impression is backed up by U.S. census data showing that the Gini-coefficient for income distribution in the United States has been increasing constantly over the past decades for individuals and households. The Gini coefficient for individual earnings of full-time, year round workers has increased between 1990 and 2020 from 0.36 to 0.42, for example. This indicates an increase in concentration of income. In general, the Gini coefficient is calculated by looking at average income rates. A score of zero would reflect perfect income equality and a score of one indicates a society where one person would have all the money and all other people have nothing. Income distribution is also affected by region. The state of New York had the widest gap between rich and poor people in the United States, with a Gini coefficient of 0.51, as of 2019. In global comparison, South Africa led the ranking of the 20 countries with the biggest inequality in income distribution in 2018. South Africa had a score of 63 points, based on the Gini coefficient. On the other hand, the Gini coefficient stood at 16.6 in Azerbaijan, indicating that income is widely spread among the population and not concentrated on a few rich individuals or families. Slovenia led the ranking of the 20 countries with the greatest income distribution equality in 2018.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Income (EC5)

FULL MEASURE NAME Worker income by workplace (earnings)

LAST UPDATED May 2019

DESCRIPTION Income reflects the median earnings of individuals and households from employment, as well as the income distribution by quintile. Income data highlight how employees are being compensated for their work on an inflation-adjusted basis.

DATA SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census Count 4Pb (1970) Form STF3 (1980-1990) Form SF3a (2000) https://nhgis.org

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey Form B08521 (2006-2017; place of employment) http://api.census.gov

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index All Urban Consumers Data Table (1970-2017; specific to each metro area) http://data.bls.gov

CONTACT INFORMATION Vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Income data reported in a given year reflects the income earned in the prior year (decennial Census) or in the prior 12 months (American Community Survey); note that this inconsistency has a minor effect on historical comparisons (for more information, go to: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/methodology/ASA_nelson.pdf). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – metropolitan areas and counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Quintile income for 1970-2000 is imputed from Decennial Census data using methodology from the California Department of Finance (for more information, go to: http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Census_Data_Center_Network/documents/How_to_Recalculate_a_Median.pdf). Bay Area income is the population weighted average of county-level income.

Income has been inflated using the Consumer Price Index specific to each metro area; however, some metro areas lack metro-specific CPI data back to 1970 and therefore adjusted data is unavailable for some historical data points. Note that current MSA boundaries were used for historical comparison by identifying counties included in today’s metro areas.

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Household Income in New York (MEHOINUSNYA672N) from 1984 to 2023 about NY, households, median, income, real, and USA.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Income (EC4)

FULL MEASURE NAME Household income by place of residence

LAST UPDATED May 2019

DESCRIPTION Income reflects the median earnings of individuals and households from employment, as well as the income distribution by quintile. Income data highlight how employees are being compensated for their work on an inflation-adjusted basis.

DATA SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census Count 4Pb (1970) Form STF3 (1980-1990) Form SF3a (2000) https://nhgis.org

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey Form B19013 (2006-2017; place of residence) http://api.census.gov

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index All Urban Consumers Data Table (1970-2017; specific to each metro area) http://data.bls.gov

CONTACT INFORMATION vitalsigns.info@bayareametro.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) Income data reported in a given year reflects the income earned in the prior year (decennial Census) or in the prior 12 months (American Community Survey); note that this inconsistency has a minor effect on historical comparisons (for more information, go to: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/methodology/ASA_nelson.pdf). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – metropolitan areas and counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Quintile income for 1970-2000 is imputed from Decennial Census data using methodology from the California Department of Finance (for more information, go to: http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Census_Data_Center_Network/documents/How_to_Recalculate_a_Median.pdf). Bay Area income is the population weighted average of county-level income.

Income has been inflated using the Consumer Price Index specific to each metro area; however, some metro areas lack metro-specific CPI data back to 1970 and therefore adjusted data is unavailable for some historical data points. Note that current MSA boundaries were used for historical comparison by identifying counties included in today’s metro areas.

Key information about Japan Monthly Earnings

• Japan Monthly Earnings stood at 1,888 USD in Jan 2025, compared with the previous figure of 4,014 USD in Dec 2024
• Japan Monthly Earnings data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1971 to Jan 2025, with an average number of 2,419 USD
• The data reached the an all-time high of 7,322 USD in Dec 1994 and a record low of 164 USD in Feb 1971

CEIC converts Monthly Earnings into USD. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare provides Average Monthly Earnings in local currency. Federal Reserve Bank average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Monthly Earnings include Establishments with 5 or more employees. Monthly Earnings prior to January 2012 are based on Conventional Published Value.


Further information about Japan Monthly Earnings

• In the latest reports, Japan Population reached 124 million people in Dec 2024
• Unemployment Rate of Japan remained the same at 3 % in Jan 2025
• The country's Labour Force Participation Rate dropped to 63 % in Jan 2025

Net national incomes have grown globally, growing from 694 U.S. dollars in 1970 to 9,750 in 2021. Much of this growth can be attributed to improvements in overall global development, as economies in developing countries have grown rapidly. Net national incomes grew steadily from the 1970s to the 2000s, and then experienced a sharper increase during the 2000s until the Great Recession, falling slightly in 2008.

Key information about China Household Income per Capita

• China Annual Household Income per Capita reached 4,805.935 USD in Dec 2013, compared with the previous value of 4,273.467 USD in Dec 2012.
• China Annual Household Income per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1985 to Dec 2013, with an averaged value of 711.353 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 4,805.935 USD in Dec 2013 and a record low of 262.918 USD in Dec 1986.
• In the latest reports, Retail Sales of China grew 12.700 % YoY in May 2023.

CEIC converts Annual Household Income per Capita into USD. The National Bureau of Statistics provides Average Household Income per Capita in local currency. Federal Reserve Board average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Household Income covers urban area only.

In 2023, members of labor unions had higher median weekly earnings across all age groups. Union members aged between 16 and 24 for example, had a median weekly wage of around 809 U.S. dollars, while non-union members of the same age range had a median weekly wage of 709 U.S. dollars. Non-union affiliated jobs had the lowest median earnings.

Graph and download economic data for Average Hourly Earnings of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees, Total Private (AHETPI) from Jan 1964 to Apr 2025 about nonsupervisory, headline figure, earnings, average, establishment survey, hours, wages, production, private, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Personal income per capita (A792RC0A052NBEA) from 1929 to 2024 about personal income, per capita, personal, income, GDP, and USA.