In 2025, just over 45 percent of American households had an annual income that was less than 75,000 U.S. dollars. On the other hand, some 16 percent had an annual income of 200,000 U.S. dollars or more. The median household income in the country reached almost 84,000 U.S. dollars in 2024. 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. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maryland were among the states with the highest median household income in 2024. In terms of income by race and ethnicity, the average income of Asian households was highest, at over 120,000 U.S. dollars, while the median income among Black households was around half of that figure. What is the U.S. poverty threshold? The U.S. Census Bureau annually updates the poverty threshold based on the income of various household types. As of 2023, the threshold for a single-person household was 15,480 U.S. dollars. For a family of four, the poverty line increased to 31,200 U.S. dollars. There were an estimated 38.9 million people living in poverty across the United States in 2024, which reflects a poverty rate of 10.6 percent.

Graph and download economic data for Share of Net Worth Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBST01134) from Q3 1989 to Q2 2025 about net worth, wealth, percentile, Net, and USA.

In 2024, the mean household income of the bottom quintile in the United States was 18,460 U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the top five percent of households brought in 560,000 U.S. dollars. Since the 1990s, the gap between top and bottom earners has widened. Among all households, the Gini index measure for income inequality has also increased.

In the first quarter of 2025, almost ********** of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest ** percent of earners only owned *** percent of the total wealth. Income inequality in the U.S. Despite the idea that the United States is a country where hard work and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps will inevitably lead to success, this is often not the case. In 2024, *** percent of U.S. households had an annual income under 15,000 U.S. dollars. With such a small percentage of people in the United States owning such a vast majority of the country’s wealth, the gap between the rich and poor in America remains stark. The top one percent The United States was the country with the most billionaires in the world in 2025. Elon Musk, with a net worth of *** billion U.S. dollars, was among the richest people in the United States in 2025. Over the past 50 years, the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio has exploded, causing the gap between rich and poor to grow, with some economists theorizing that this gap is the largest it has been since right before the Great Depression.

Graph and download economic data for Real Median Personal Income in the United States (MEPAINUSA672N) from 1974 to 2024 about personal income, personal, median, income, real, and USA.

This table presents income shares, thresholds, tax shares, and total counts of individual Canadian tax filers, with a focus on high income individuals (95% income threshold, 99% threshold, etc.). Income thresholds are geography-specific; for example, the number of Nova Scotians in the top 1% will be calculated as the number of taxfiling Nova Scotians whose total income exceeded the 99% income threshold of Nova Scotian tax filers. Different definitions of income are available in the table namely market, total, and after-tax income, both with and without capital gains.

In 2024, about 44.7 percent of White households in the United States had an annual median income of over 100,000 U.S. dollars. By comparison, only 26.8 percent of Black households were in this income group. Asian Americans, on the other hand, had the highest median income per household that year.

Inequality remains woven into America’s economic fabric, fuelling public debate and shaping politics. In 2024, the richest fifth of U.S. households captured more than half of national income, while the poorest secured a just 3.1 percent. This stark contrast highlights the concentration of wealth among high-income households. Measuring income inequality The Gini coefficient, a standard measure of income inequality, has steadily risen over the past three decades. In 1990, the Gini coefficient for households in the United States stood at 0.43, but by 2024 it had increased to 0.49. This upward trend indicates a growing gap between the rich and poor. Among state, the District of Columbia and New York exhibited the greatest income inequality. Utah, on the other hand, recorded the smallest wealth gap. Income inequality across demographics Income disparities are also drawn along ethnic and racial lines. In 2024, Asian households in the United States had the highest median annual income, followed by White households. Black Americans and American Indian and Alaska Native families had comparatively lower household incomes. The overall median income for U.S. households reached nearly 84,000 U.S. dollars that year. These figures highlight the persistent economic gaps among various racial and ethnic groups in America.

In 2024, households with incomes between 100,000 and 149,999 U.S. dollars accounted for 16.7 percent of household in the United States. The highest earning group, who bring in over 200,000 U.S. dollars annually, accounted for 16 percent of households.

Graph and download economic data for Minimum Wealth Cutoff for the Top 0.1% (99.9th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBLTP1311) from Q3 1989 to Q3 2022 about wealth, percentile, and USA.

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 the third quarter of 2024, the top ten percent of earners in the United States held over ** percent of total wealth. This is fairly consistent with the second quarter of 2024. Comparatively, the wealth of the bottom ** percent of earners has been slowly increasing since the start of the *****, though remains low. Wealth distribution in the United States by generation can be found here.

Graph and download economic data for Share of Financial Assets Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBST01112) from Q3 1989 to Q2 2025 about wealth, percentile, financial, assets, and USA.

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.

In 2024, the median household income in the United States was 83,730 U.S. dollars. This reflected an increase from the previous year. Household income The 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 varied from state to state. In 2024, Massachusetts recorded the highest median household income in the country, at 113,900 U.S. dollars. On the other hand, Mississippi, recorded the lowest, at 55,980 U.S. dollars.Household income is also used to determine the poverty rate in the United States. In 2024, 10.6 percent of the U.S. population was living below the national poverty line. This was the lowest level since 2019. Similarly, the child poverty rate, which represents people under the age of 18 living in poverty, reached a three-decade low of 14.3 percent of the children. The state with the widest gap between the rich and the poor was New York, with a Gini coefficient score of 0.52 in 2024. The Gini coefficient is calculated by looking at average income rates. A score of zero would reflect perfect income equality, while a score of one indicates complete inequality.

Income of individuals by age group, sex and income source, Canada, provinces and selected census metropolitan areas, annual.

Graph and download economic data for Share of Corporate Equities and Mutual Fund Shares Held by the Top 1% (99th to 100th Wealth Percentiles) (WFRBST01122) from Q3 1989 to Q2 2025 about mutual funds, wealth, equity, percentile, corporate, and USA.

Income from capital was the main source of annual household income for the top percentile of earners in Israel during 2021. That year, earnings from capital reached *** million Israeli shekels on average, about ******* U.S. dollars, which represented about ** percent of annual income. Over the period observed, capital income grew significantly, peaking in 2017 at *** million Israeli shekels, about *** million U.S. dollars. The 2017 spike was due to a government decision to implement a one-time tax incentive to release "trapped" capital gains taxes. On the other hand, employment income accounted for almost ** percent of household earnings among the wealthiest in the country.

. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides Average Weekly Earnings in USD. Monthly Earnings include Private Non Agricultural sector only.


Further information about United States Monthly Earnings

• In the latest reports, US Population reached 341 million people in Dec 2024
• Unemployment Rate of US increased to 4 % in Sep 2025
• The country's Labour Force Participation Rate remained the same rate at 62 % in Sep 2025