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 Family Income in the United States (MEFAINUSA672N) from 1953 to 2023 about family, median, income, real, and USA.

This statistic shows the average income of a middle class family in the United States in 2014, by state. In 2014, the average middle-class family in Alaska had an income of ****** U.S. dollars per year. This was significantly higher than the national average of ****** U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Median Personal Income in the United States (MEPAINUSA646N) from 1974 to 2023 about personal income, personal, median, income, and USA.

By 2030, the middle-class population in Asia-Pacific is expected to increase from 1.38 billion people in 2015 to 3.49 billion people. In comparison, the middle-class population of sub-Saharan Africa is expected to increase from 114 million in 2015 to 212 million in 2030.

Worldwide wealth

While the middle-class has been on the rise, there is still a huge disparity in global wealth and income. The United States had the highest number of individuals belonging to the top one percent of wealth holders, and the value of global wealth is only expected to increase over the coming years. Around 57 percent of the world’s population had assets valued at less than 10,000 U.S. dollars; while less than one percent had assets of more than million U.S. dollars. Asia had the highest percentage of investable assets in the world in 2018, whereas Oceania had the highest percent of non-investable assets.

The middle-class

The middle class is the group of people whose income falls in the middle of the scale. China accounted for over half of the global population for middle-class wealth in 2017. In the United States, the debate about the middle class “disappearing” has been a popular topic due to the increase in wealth to the top billionaires in the nation. Due to this, there have been arguments to increase taxes on the rich to help support the middle-class.

This statistic shows the median net worth of families in the United States from 1983 to 2013, by income tier. In 2013, middle class families had a median net worth of about 98,057 U.S. dollars.

This study defined middle class income households as those with an income between 67 and 200 percent of the U.S. median household income, after adjustment for household size. In 2014, the middle class income ranged from about 42,000 U.S. dollars to about 126,000 U.S. dollars per year for a three-person household.

Graph and download economic data for Real Disposable Personal Income (DSPIC96) from Jan 1959 to May 2025 about disposable, personal income, personal, income, real, and USA.

This statistic shows the median household income in the United States from 1990 to 2023 in 2023 U.S. dollars. The median household income was 80,610 U.S. dollars in 2023, an increase from the previous year. Household incomeThe median household income depicts the income of households, including the income of the householder and all other individuals aged 15 years or over living in the household. Income includes wages and salaries, unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support payments received, regular rental receipts, as well as any personal business, investment, or other kinds of income received routinely. The median household income in the United States varies from state to state. In 2020, the median household income was 86,725 U.S. dollars in Massachusetts, while the median household income in Mississippi was approximately 44,966 U.S. dollars at that time. Household income is also used to determine the poverty line in the United States. In 2021, about 11.6 percent of the U.S. population was living in poverty. The child poverty rate, which represents people under the age of 18 living in poverty, has been growing steadily over the first decade since the turn of the century, from 16.2 percent of the children living below the poverty line in year 2000 to 22 percent in 2010. In 2021, it had lowered to 15.3 percent. The state with the widest gap between the rich and the poor was New York, with a Gini coefficient score of 0.51 in 2019. 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.

United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 20% data was reported at 46.900 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 46.400 % for 2013. United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 20% data is updated yearly, averaging 46.000 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 46.900 % in 2016 and a record low of 41.200 % in 1979. United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 20% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data was reported at 30.600 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 30.100 % for 2013. United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data is updated yearly, averaging 30.100 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.600 % in 2016 and a record low of 25.300 % in 1979. United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) in Low & middle income was reported at 5265 USD in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Low & middle income - GDP per capita (constant 2000 US$) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

This dataset contains replication files for "The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility Since 1940" by Raj Chetty, David Grusky, Maximilian Hell, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert Manduca, and Jimmy Narang. For more information, see https://opportunityinsights.org/paper/the-fading-american-dream/. A summary of the related publication follows. One of the defining features of the “American Dream” is the ideal that children have a higher standard of living than their parents. We assess whether the U.S. is living up to this ideal by estimating rates of “absolute income mobility” – the fraction of children who earn more than their parents – since 1940. We measure absolute mobility by comparing children’s household incomes at age 30 (adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index) with their parents’ household incomes at age 30. We find that rates of absolute mobility have fallen from approximately 90% for children born in 1940 to 50% for children born in the 1980s. Absolute income mobility has fallen across the entire income distribution, with the largest declines for families in the middle class. These findings are unaffected by using alternative price indices to adjust for inflation, accounting for taxes and transfers, measuring income at later ages, and adjusting for changes in household size. Absolute mobility fell in all 50 states, although the rate of decline varied, with the largest declines concentrated in states in the industrial Midwest, such as Michigan and Illinois. The decline in absolute mobility is especially steep – from 95% for children born in 1940 to 41% for children born in 1984 – when we compare the sons’ earnings to their fathers’ earnings. Why have rates of upward income mobility fallen so sharply over the past half-century? There have been two important trends that have affected the incomes of children born in the 1980s relative to those born in the 1940s and 1950s: lower Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates and greater inequality in the distribution of growth. We find that most of the decline in absolute mobility is driven by the more unequal distribution of economic growth rather than the slowdown in aggregate growth rates. When we simulate an economy that restores GDP growth to the levels experienced in the 1940s and 1950s but distributes that growth across income groups as it is distributed today, absolute mobility only increases to 62%. In contrast, maintaining GDP at its current level but distributing it more broadly across income groups – at it was distributed for children born in the 1940s – would increase absolute mobility to 80%, thereby reversing more than two-thirds of the decline in absolute mobility. These findings show that higher growth rates alone are insufficient to restore absolute mobility to the levels experienced in mid-century America. Under the current distribution of GDP, we would need real GDP growth rates above 6% per year to return to rates of absolute mobility in the 1940s. Intuitively, because a large fraction of GDP goes to a small fraction of high-income households today, higher GDP growth does not substantially increase the number of children who earn more than their parents. Of course, this does not mean that GDP growth does not matter: changing the distribution of growth naturally has smaller effects on absolute mobility when there is very little growth to be distributed. The key point is that increasing absolute mobility substantially would require more broad-based economic growth. We conclude that absolute mobility has declined sharply in America over the past half-century primarily because of the growth in inequality. If one wants to revive the “American Dream” of high rates of absolute mobility, one must have an interest in growth that is shared more broadly across the income distribution.

This statistic shows the change in the median household income per decade in the United States from 1970 to 2014, by income tier. Between 1990 and 2000, the median household income for the middle class increased by 12 percent.

This study defined middle class income households as those with an income between 67 and 200 percent of the U.S. median household income, after adjustment for household size. In 2014, the middle class income ranged from about 42,000 U.S. dollars to about 126,000 U.S. dollars per year for a three-person household.

In 2023, the real median household income for householders aged 15 to 24 was at 54,930 U.S. dollars. The highest median household income was found amongst those aged between 45 and 54. Household median income for the United States since 1990 can be accessed here.

In 2023, just over 50 percent of Americans had an annual household income that was less than 75,000 U.S. dollars. The median household income was 80,610 U.S. dollars in 2023. Income and wealth in the United States After the economic recession in 2009, income inequality in the U.S. is more prominent across many metropolitan areas. The Northeast region is regarded as one of the wealthiest in the country. Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts were among the states with the highest median household income in 2020. In terms of income by race and ethnicity, the average income of Asian households was 94,903 U.S. dollars in 2020, while the median income for Black households was around half of that figure. What is the U.S. poverty threshold? The U.S. Census Bureau annually updates its list of poverty levels. Preliminary estimates show that the average poverty threshold for a family of four people was 26,500 U.S. dollars in 2021, which is around 100 U.S. dollars less than the previous year. There were an estimated 37.9 million people in poverty across the United States in 2021, which was around 11.6 percent of the population. Approximately 19.5 percent of those in poverty were Black, while 8.2 percent were white.

Key information about Russia Household Income per Capita

• Russia Annual Household Income per Capita reached 8,179.123 USD in Dec 2024, compared with the previous value of 7,549.747 USD in Dec 2023.
• Russia Annual Household Income per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1992 to Dec 2024, with an averaged value of 5,882.623 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 9,660.697 USD in Dec 2013 and a record low of 183.584 USD in Dec 1992.
• In the latest reports, Retail Sales of Russia grew 5.200 % YoY in Dec 2024.

CEIC calculates Annual Household Income per Capita from Monthly Average Household Income per Capita multiplied by 12 and converts it into USD. Federal State Statistics Service provides Average Household Income per Capita in local currency. The Bank of Russia average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions.

This statistic shows the main obstacles to improving housing access for middle-income families according to mayors in the United States in 2017. In that survey, 37 percent of respondents said that the lack of bank financing for individuals was the biggest obstacle to improving housing access for middle-income families.

Key information about Vietnam Household Income per Capita

• Vietnam Annual Household Income per Capita reached 2,502.524 USD in Dec 2023, compared with the previous value of 2,409.689 USD in Dec 2022.
• Vietnam Annual Household Income per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1994 to Dec 2023, with an averaged value of 1,023.278 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 2,502.524 USD in Dec 2023 and a record low of 183.956 USD in Dec 1994.
• In the latest reports, Retail Sales of Vietnam grew 8.086 % YoY in Nov 2024.

CEIC converts Annual Household Income per Capita into USD. Annual Household Income per Capita is calculated from Monthly Average Household Income per Capita multiplied by 12. General Statistical Office provides Average Household Income per Capita in local currency. State Bank of Vietnam average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions.

Graph and download economic data for Median Household Income in Massachusetts (MEHOINUSMAA646N) from 1984 to 2023 about MA, households, median, income, and USA.

This special topic poll, fielded September 10, 2009, re-interviewed 648 adults first surveyed August 27-31 2009. This continuing series of monthly surveys solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. The dataset includes their responses to call-back questions as well as to selected questions in the original poll (ICPSR 27803) which asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency, the war in Afghanistan, health care, and the economy. Several questions addressed health care, including whether respondents thought the health care system in the United States worked well, whether Medicare worked well, and whether the government would do a better job than private health care companies in keeping health care costs down and providing medical coverage. Respondents were also asked their opinions on whether President Obama's proposals for reform would increase competition in the private insurance market, the health insurance industry, whether they believed in the possibility of expanding health care coverage without increasing budget deficits or taxes on the middle class, whether President Obama or the Republicans in Congress had better ideas about reforming the health care system, and whether they understood the health care reforms that Congress was considering. Whether President Obama's proposals for reform would increase competition in the private insurance market, whether the health care reform proposed by President Obama would make health care better in the United States and would help the respondent personally, and whether respondents favored the ideas of requiring all Americans to buy health insurance and the government offering everyone a government administered health insurance plan. Information was collected on how respondents thought health care reforms under consideration in Congress would effect the middle class, senior citizens, small businesses, the respondent personally, their health care costs, and the quality of health care. Additional topics that were covered included the pullout of troops from Iraq, credit card debt, how the federal government should use taxpayer's money, personal finances, the best way to discourage obesity, terrorist attacks, the war in Afghanistan, the swine flu, and job security. Respondents were re-interviewed on September 10, 2009, and asked whether they approved of the way Barak Obama was handling health care, if they had listened to the president's address of September 9th, the clarity of his explanation in regard to reform, if they agreed with the proposed reforms, whether Congress would pass and President Obama would sign a bill reforming the system. Questions in regard to budget deficit, expanded health care, regulation of the health insurance industry were also asked. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, perceived social class, religious preference, and voter registration status and participation history.