About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents the mean household income for each of the five quintiles in California, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The dataset highlights the variation in mean household income across quintiles, offering valuable insights into income distribution and inequality.

Key observations

• Income disparities: The mean income of the lowest quintile (20% of households with the lowest income) is 18,110, while the mean income for the highest quintile (20% of households with the highest income) is 346,847. This indicates that the top earners earn 19 times compared to the lowest earners.
• *Top 5%: * The mean household income for the wealthiest population (top 5%) is 627,250, which is 180.84% higher compared to the highest quintile, and 3463.56% higher compared to the lowest quintile.

https://i.neilsberg.com/ch/california-mean-household-income-by-quintiles.jpeg" alt="Mean household income by quintiles in California (in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars))">

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Income Levels:

• Lowest Quintile
• Second Quintile
• Third Quintile
• Fourth Quintile
• Highest Quintile
• Top 5 Percent

Variables / Data Columns

• Income Level: This column showcases the income levels (As mentioned above).
• Mean Household Income: Mean household income, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars for the specific income level.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for California median household income. You can refer the same here

Real Median Household Income in California was 100600.00000 2015 CPI-U-RS Adjusted $ in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Real Median Household Income in California reached a record high of 100600.00000 in January of 2024 and a record low of 66480.00000 in January of 1984. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Real Median Household Income in California - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on December of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for Los Angeles County, CA (MHICIUBCA06037A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Los Angeles County, CA; Los Angeles; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for Alameda County, CA (MHICIUBCA06001A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Alameda County, CA; San Francisco; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents the mean household income for each of the five quintiles in Orange, CA, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The dataset highlights the variation in mean household income across quintiles, offering valuable insights into income distribution and inequality.

Key observations

• Income disparities: The mean income of the lowest quintile (20% of households with the lowest income) is 27,530, while the mean income for the highest quintile (20% of households with the highest income) is 367,764. This indicates that the top earners earn 13 times compared to the lowest earners.
• *Top 5%: * The mean household income for the wealthiest population (top 5%) is 654,355, which is 177.93% higher compared to the highest quintile, and 2376.88% higher compared to the lowest quintile.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Income Levels:

• Lowest Quintile
• Second Quintile
• Third Quintile
• Fourth Quintile
• Highest Quintile
• Top 5 Percent

Variables / Data Columns

• Income Level: This column showcases the income levels (As mentioned above).
• Mean Household Income: Mean household income, in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars for the specific income level.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Orange median household income. You can refer the same here

In 2022, San Francisco had the highest median household income of cities ranking within the top 25 in terms of population, with a median household income in of 136,692 U.S. dollars. In that year, San Jose in California was ranked second, and Seattle, Washington third.

Following a fall after the great recession, median household income in the United States has been increasing in recent years. As of 2022, median household income by state was highest in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Utah, and Massachusetts. It was lowest in Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas. Families with an annual income of 25,000 and 49,999 U.S. dollars made up the largest income bracket in America, with about 25.26 million households.

Data on median household income can be compared to statistics on personal income in the U.S. released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income rose to around 21.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, the highest value recorded. Personal income is a measure of the total income received by persons from all sources, while median household income is “the amount with divides the income distribution into two equal groups,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Half of the population in question lives above median income and half lives below. Though total personal income has increased in recent years, this wealth is not distributed throughout the population. In practical terms, income of most households has decreased. One additional statistic illustrates this disparity: for the lowest quintile of workers, mean household income has remained more or less steady for the past decade at about 13 to 16 thousand constant U.S. dollars annually. Meanwhile, income for the top five percent of workers has actually risen from about 285,000 U.S. dollars in 1990 to about 499,900 U.S. dollars in 2020.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for San Mateo County, CA (MHICIUBCA06081A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about San Mateo County, CA; San Francisco; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Definitions:Urban: Contiguous urban census tracts with a population of 50,000 or greater. Urban census tracts are tracts where at least 10 percent of the tract's land areas is designated as urban by the Census Bureau using the 2020 urbanized area criteria.Rural Center: Contiguous urban census tracts with a population of less than 50,000. Urban census tracts are tracts where at least 10 percent of the tract's land area is designated as urban by the Census Bureau using the 2020 urbanized area criteria.Rural: Census tracts where less than 10 percent of the tract's land area is designated as urban by the Census Bureau using the 2020 urbanized area criteria.Disadvantaged Community (DAC): Census tracts that score within the top 25th percentile of the Office of Environmental Health Hazards Assessment’s California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen) 4.0 scores, as well as areas of high pollution and low population, such as ports.Low-income Community (LIC): Census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with median household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low income by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted pursuant to Section 50093 of the California Health and Safety Code.Middle-income Community (MIC): Census tracts with median household incomes between 80 to 120 percent of the statewide median income, or with median household incomes between the threshold designated as low- and moderate-income by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted pursuant to section 50093 of the California Health and Safety Code. High-income Community (HIC): Census tracts with median household income at or above 120 percent of the statewide median income or with median household incomes at or above the threshold designated as moderate-income by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted pursuant to section 50093 of the California Health and Safety Code.Data Dictionary:ObjectID1_: Unique IDShape: Geometric form of the featureSTATEFP: State FIPS CodeCOUNTYFP: County FIPS CodeCOUNTY: County NameTract: Census Tract IDPopulation_2019_5YR: Population from the American Community Survey 2019 5-Year EstimatesPop_dens: Census tract designation as Urban, Rural Center, or RuralDAC: Census tract designation as Disadvantaged or not (DAC or Not DAC)Income_Group: Census tract designation as Low-, Middle-, or High-income Community (LIC, MIC, or HIC)Priority_pop: Census tract designation as Low-income and/or Disadvantaged or not (LIC and/or DAC, or Not LIC and/or DAC)Shape_Length: Census tract shape area (square meters)Shape_Area: Census tract shape length (square meters)Data sources:Urban, rural center, and rural designations are from the 2025 Senate Bill (SB) 1000 AssessmentDisadvantaged community designations are from the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) under Senate Bill (SB) 535Low-income community designations are from the California Air Resources Board under Assembly Bill (AB) 1550. Middle- and high-income designations are from the SB 1000 Assessments.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents the mean household income for each of the five quintiles in Ventura County, CA, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The dataset highlights the variation in mean household income across quintiles, offering valuable insights into income distribution and inequality.

Key observations

• Income disparities: The mean income of the lowest quintile (20% of households with the lowest income) is 25,471, while the mean income for the highest quintile (20% of households with the highest income) is 344,310. This indicates that the top earners earn 14 times compared to the lowest earners.
• *Top 5%: * The mean household income for the wealthiest population (top 5%) is 600,629, which is 174.44% higher compared to the highest quintile, and 2358.09% higher compared to the lowest quintile.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Income Levels:

• Lowest Quintile
• Second Quintile
• Third Quintile
• Fourth Quintile
• Highest Quintile
• Top 5 Percent

Variables / Data Columns

• Income Level: This column showcases the income levels (As mentioned above).
• Mean Household Income: Mean household income, in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars for the specific income level.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Ventura County median household income. You can refer the same here

This layer shows census tracts that meet the following definitions: Census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with median household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low income by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted under Healthy and Safety Code section 50093 and/or Census tracts receiving the highest 25 percent of overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 or Census tracts lacking overall scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 due to data gaps, but receiving the highest 5 percent of CalEnviroScreen 4.0 cumulative population burden scores or Census tracts identified in the 2017 DAC designation as disadvantaged, regardless of their scores in CalEnviroScreen 4.0 or Lands under the control of federally recognized Tribes.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for San Francisco County/City, CA (MHICIUBCA06075A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about San Francisco County/City, CA; San Francisco; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Estimate of Median Household Income for Ventura County, CA (MHICA06111A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Ventura County, CA; Oxnard; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for San Diego County, CA (MHICIUBCA06073A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about San Diego County, CA; San Diego; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Related Children Age 5-17 in Families in Poverty for California (PECIUB5T17CA06000A647NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about 5 to 17 years, family, child, poverty, CA, persons, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for Butte County, CA (MHICIUBCA06007A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Butte County, CA; Chico; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for Del Norte County, CA (MHICIUBCA06015A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Del Norte County, CA; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for San Bernardino County, CA (MHICIUBCA06071A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about San Bernardino County, CA; Riverside; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for Sonoma County, CA (MHICIUBCA06097A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Sonoma County, CA; Santa Rosa; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for Tuolumne County, CA (MHICIUBCA06109A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Tuolumne County, CA; CA; households; median; income; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 90% Confidence Interval Upper Bound of Estimate of Median Household Income for Napa County, CA (MHICIUBCA06055A052NCEN) from 1989 to 2023 about Napa County, CA; Napa; CA; households; median; income; and USA.