U.S. citizens with a professional degree had the highest median household income in 2023, at 172,100 U.S. dollars. In comparison, those with less than a 9th grade education made significantly less money, at 35,690 U.S. dollars. Household income The median household income in the United States has fluctuated since 1990, but rose to around 70,000 U.S. dollars in 2021. Maryland had the highest median household income in the United States in 2021. Maryland’s high levels of wealth is due to several reasons, and includes the state's proximity to the nation's capital. Household income and ethnicity The median income of white non-Hispanic households in the United States had been on the rise since 1990, but declining since 2019. While income has also been on the rise, the median income of Hispanic households was much lower than those of white, non-Hispanic private households. However, the median income of Black households is even lower than Hispanic households. Income inequality is a problem without an easy solution in the United States, especially since ethnicity is a contributing factor. Systemic racism contributes to the non-White population suffering from income inequality, which causes the opportunity for growth to stagnate.

Long-term longitudinal dataset with information on generational links and socioeconomic and health conditions of individuals over time. The central foci of the data are economic and demographic, with substantial detail on income sources and amounts, wealth, savings, employment, pensions, family composition changes, childbirth and marriage histories, and residential location. Over the life of the PSID, the NIA has funded supplements on wealth, health, parental health and long term care, housing, and the financial impact of illness, thus also making it possible to model retirement and residential mobility. Starting in 1999, much greater detail on specific health conditions and health care expenses is included for respondent and spouse. Other enhancements have included a question series about emotional distress (2001); the two stem questions from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview to assess symptoms of major depression (2003); a supplement on philanthropic giving and volunteering (2001-03); a question series on Internet and computer use (2003); linkage to the National Death Index with cause of death information for more than 4,000 individuals through the 1997 wave, updated for each subsequent wave; social and family history variables and GIS-linked environmental data; basic data on pension plans; event history calendar methodology to facilitate recall of employment spells (2001). The reporting unit is the family: single person living alone or sharing a household with other non-relatives; group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption; unmarried couple living together in what appears to be a fairly permanent arrangement. Interviews were conducted annually from 1968 through 1997; biennial interviewing began in 1999. There is an oversample of Blacks (30%). Waves 1990 through 1995 included a 20% Hispanic oversample; within the Hispanic oversample, Cubans and Puerto Ricans were oversampled relative to Mexicans. All data from 1994 through 2001 are available as public release files; prior waves can be obtained in archive versions. The special files with weights for families are also available. Restricted files include the Geocode Match File with information for 1968 through 2001, the 1968-2001 Death File, and the 1991 Medicare Claims File. * Dates of Study: 1968-2003 * Study Features: Longitudinal, Minority Oversampling * Sample Size: 65,000+ Links * ICPSR Series: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/series/00131 * ICPSR 1968-1999: Annual Core Data: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/07439 * ICPSR 1968-1999: Supplemental Files: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/03202 * ICPSR 1989-1990: Latino Sample: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/03203