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.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for New York County, NY (MWACL36061) from 2009 to 2023 about New York County, NY; adjusted; New York; average; NY; wages; real; and USA.

In 2023, the real median household income in the state of Alabama was 60,660 U.S. dollars. The state with the highest median household income was Massachusetts, which was 106,500 U.S. dollars in 2023. The average median household income in the United States was at 80,610 U.S. dollars.

This map shows the median household income in the United States in 2012. Information for the 2012 Median Household Income is an estimate of income for calendar year 2012. Income amounts are expressed in current dollars, including an adjustment for inflation or cost-of-living increases. The median is the value that divides the distribution of household income into two equal parts. The median household income in the United States overall was $50,157 in 2012. This map shows Esri's 2012 estimates using Census 2010 geographies.

The geography depicts States at greater than 50m scale, Counties at 7.5m to 50m scale, Census Tracts at 200k to 7.5m scale, and Census Block Groups at less than 200k scale.

Scale Range: 1:591,657,528 down to 1:72,224.

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This map shows the median household income in the U.S. in 2017 in a multiscale map by country, state, county, ZIP Code, tract, and block group. Median household income is estimated for 2017 in current dollars, including an adjustment for inflation or cost-of-living increases.The pop-up is configured to include the following information for each geography level:Median household incomeMedian household income by age of householderCount of households by income level (Householder age 15 to 24)Count of households by income level (Householder age 25 to 34)Count of households by income level (Householder age 35 to 44)Count of households by income level (Householder age 45 to 54)Count of households by income level (Householder age 55 to 64)Count of households by income level (Householder age 65 to 74)Count of households by income level (Householder age 75 plus)The data shown is from Esri's 2017 Updated Demographic estimates using Census 2010 geographies. The map adds increasing level of detail as you zoom in, from state, to county, to ZIP Code, to tract, to block group data. Esri's U.S. Updated Demographic (2017/2022) Data - Population, age, income, sex, race, home value, and marital status are among the variables included in the database. Each year, Esri's Data Development team employs its proven methodologies to update more than 2,000 demographic variables for a variety of U.S. geographies.Data Note: The median household income value divides the distribution of household income into two equal parts. Pareto interpolation is used if the median falls in an income interval other than the first or last. For the lowest interval, <$10,000, linear interpolation is used. If the median falls in the upper income interval of $500,000+, it is represented by the value of $500,001.

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of June 2023 and will be retired in December 2025. This map shows the average household income in the U.S. in 2022 in a multiscale map by country, state, county, ZIP Code, tract, and block group. Information for the average household income is an estimate of income for calendar year 2022. Income amounts are expressed in current dollars, including an adjustment for inflation or cost-of-living increases.The pop-up is configured to include the following information for each geography level:Average household incomeMedian household incomeCount of households by income groupAverage household income by householder age groupPermitted use of this data is covered in the DATA section of the Esri Master Agreement (E204CW) and these supplemental terms.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR Poverty (EQ5)

FULL MEASURE NAME The share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit

LAST UPDATED December 2018

DESCRIPTION Poverty refers to the share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit, which varies based on the number of individuals in a given household. It reflects the number of individuals who are economically struggling due to low household income levels.

DATA SOURCE U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census http://www.nhgis.org (1980-1990) http://factfinder2.census.gov (2000)

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey Form C17002 (2006-2017) http://api.census.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator) The U.S. Census Bureau defines a national poverty level (or household income) that varies by household size, number of children in a household, and age of householder. The national poverty level does not vary geographically even though cost of living is different across the United States. For the Bay Area, where cost of living is high and incomes are correspondingly high, an appropriate poverty level is 200% of poverty or twice the national poverty level, consistent with what was used for past equity work at MTC and ABAG. For comparison, however, both the national and 200% poverty levels are presented.

For Vital Signs, the poverty rate is defined as the number of people (including children) living below twice the poverty level divided by the number of people for whom poverty status is determined. Poverty rates do not include unrelated individuals below 15 years old or people who live in the following: institutionalized group quarters, college dormitories, military barracks, and situations without conventional housing. The household income definitions for poverty change each year to reflect inflation. The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps). For the national poverty level definitions by year, see: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/index.html For an explanation on how the Census Bureau measures poverty, see: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/measure.html

For the American Community Survey datasets, 1-year data was used for region, county, and metro areas whereas 5-year rolling average data was used for city and census tract.

To be consistent across metropolitan areas, the poverty definition for non-Bay Area metros is twice the national poverty level. Data were not adjusted for varying income and cost of living levels across the metropolitan areas.

In 2023, the United States had the highest gross household disposable income per capita in OECD countries adjusted for purchasing power parity. Their disposable income per capita was over ****** U.S. dollars. Luxembourg followed in second with around ****** U.S. dollars, with Switzerland in third.

The US Family Budget Dataset provides insights into the cost of living in different US counties based on the Family Budget Calculator by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

This dataset offers community-specific estimates for ten family types, including one or two adults with zero to four children, in all 1877 counties and metro areas across the United States.

Interesting Task Ideas:

1. See how family budgets compare to the federal poverty line and the Supplemental Poverty Measure in different counties.
2. Look into the money challenges faced by different types of families using the budgets provided.
3. Find out which counties have the most affordable places to live, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and other things people need.
4. Explore how the average income of families relates to the overall cost of living in different counties.
5. Investigate how family size affects the estimated budget and find counties where bigger families have higher costs.
6. Create visuals showing how the cost of living varies across different states and big cities.
7. Check whether specific counties are affordable for families of different sizes and types.
8. Use the dataset to compare living standards and economic security in different US counties.

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Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for Salt Lake County, UT (MWACL49035) from 2009 to 2023 about Salt Lake County, UT; Salt Lake City; UT; adjusted; average; wages; real; and USA.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Poverty (EQ5)

FULL MEASURE NAME
The share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit

LAST UPDATED
January 2023

DESCRIPTION
Poverty refers to the share of the population living in households that earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit, which varies based on the number of individuals in a given household. It reflects the number of individuals who are economically struggling due to low household income levels.

DATA SOURCE
U.S Census Bureau: Decennial Census - http://www.nhgis.org
1980-2000

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/
2007-2021
Form C17002

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
The U.S. Census Bureau defines a national poverty level (or household income) that varies by household size, number of children in a household, and age of householder. The national poverty level does not vary geographically even though cost of living is different across the United States. For the Bay Area, where cost of living is high and incomes are correspondingly high, an appropriate poverty level is 200% of poverty or twice the national poverty level, consistent with what was used for past equity work at MTC and ABAG. For comparison, however, both the national and 200% poverty levels are presented.

For Vital Signs, the poverty rate is defined as the number of people (including children) living below twice the poverty level divided by the number of people for whom poverty status is determined. The household income definitions for poverty change each year to reflect inflation. The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or non-cash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid and food stamps).

For the national poverty level definitions by year, see: US Census Bureau Poverty Thresholds - https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html.

For an explanation on how the Census Bureau measures poverty, see: How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty - https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.

American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020.

To be consistent across metropolitan areas, the poverty definition for non-Bay Area metros is twice the national poverty level. Data were not adjusted for varying income and cost of living levels across the metropolitan areas.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

Of the most populous cities in the U.S., San Jose, California had the highest annual income requirement at ******* U.S. dollars annually for homeowners to have an affordable and comfortable life in 2024. This can be compared to Houston, Texas, where homeowners needed an annual income of ****** U.S. dollars in 2024.

Graph and download economic data for Estimated Mean Real Household Wages Adjusted by Cost of Living for King County, WA (MWACL53033) from 2009 to 2023 about King County, WA; Seattle; adjusted; WA; average; wages; real; and USA.

The role of religion and politics in the responses to the coronavirus pandemic raises the question of their influence on the risk of other diseases. This study focuses on age-adjusted death rates of cancer, heart disease, and infant mortality per 1000 live births before the pandemic (2018-2019) and COVID-19 in 2020-2021. Eight hypothesized predictors of health effects were analyzed by examining their correlation to age-adjusted death rates among U.S. states, percentage who pray once or more daily, Republican influence on state health policies as indicated by the percentage vote for Trump in 2016, percent of household incomes below poverty, median family income divided by a cost-of-living index, the Gini income inequality index, urban concentration of the population, physicians per capita, and public health expenditures per capita. Since prayer for divine intervention is common to otherwise diverse religious beliefs and practices, the percentage of people claiming to pray daily in each state was used to indicate potential religious influence. All of the death rates were higher in states where more people claimed to pray daily, and where Trump received a larger percentage of the vote. Except for COVID-19, the death rates were consistently lower in states with higher public health expenditures per capita. Only COVID-19 was correlated to physicians per capita, lower where there were more physicians. Corrected statistically for the other factors, income per cost of living explains no variance. Heart disease and COVID-19 death rates were higher in areas with more income inequality. All of the disease rates were in correlation with more rural populations. Correlation of daily prayer with smoking cigarettes, and neglect of public health recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption and COVID-19 vaccination suggests that prayer may be substituted for preventive practices.

Alaska, Hawaii, and Connecticut were the states with the highest average monthly utility costs in the United States in 2023. Residents paid about ****** U.S. dollars for their electricity bills in Hawaii, while the average monthly bill for natural gas came to *** U.S. dollars. This was significantly higher than in any other state. Bigger homes have higher utility costs Despite regional variations, single-family homes in the United States have grown bigger in size since 1975. This trend also means that, unless homeowners invest in energy savings measures, they will have to pay more for their utility costs. Which are the most affordable states to live in? According to the cost of living index, the three most affordable states to live in are Mississippi, Kansas, and Oklahoma. At the other end of the scale are Hawaii, District of Columbia, and New York. The index is based on housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services. To buy a median priced home in Kansas City, a prospective home buyer will have to earn an annual salary of about ****** U.S. dollars.

Abstract (en): The ongoing Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) provides detailed information on income and expenditures and also furnishes the Bureau of Labor Statistics with data needed to maintain and review the Consumer Price Index. The Diary, or recordkeeping, component of the CES contains expenditure data for small items purchased on a daily or weekly basis. Survey participants from consumer units, which are roughly equivalent to households, keep daily expense records which itemize all purchases made during a two-week period. Expenditures focused on include small, frequently purchased items such as food, beverages, food consumed away from home, gasoline, housekeeping supplies, nonprescription drugs and medical supplies, and personal care products and services. Three types of files for each quarter of 1982 and 1983 are supplied in this collection. The Consumer Unit Characteristics and Income files (FMLY) contain consumer unit characteristics, consumer unit income, characteristics and earnings of the reference person, and characteristics and earnings of the spouse. The Member Characteristics (MEMB) files present selected characteristics for each consumer unit member, including reference person and spouse, and the Detailed Expenditures (EXPN) files contain monthly expenditure data at the Universal Classification Code (UCC) level. Civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States living in urban areas. This survey is based on a national probability sample of households. The sampling frame was generated from the 1970 Census 100 Percent Detail File. Each selected sample unit is requested to keep two one-week diaries of expenditures over consecutive weeks. The earliest possible day for placing a diary with a household is predesignated so that each day of the week has an equal chance to start the reference week, and the diaries are evenly spaced throughout the year. During the last six weeks of the year, the diary sample is supplemented to twice its normal size to increase the reportings of types of expenditures unique to the holiday season. 2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 26 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 26 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads. Rural data collection for this survey was discontinued in 1981 and not resumed until 1984. Thus, the Diary Survey for 1982-1983 contains only urban data. Codebooks for this data collection are machine-readable only.

In 2023, the lowest 20 percent of income consumer units spent about 41.3 percent of their total expenditure on housing. Consumer units belonging to the highest 20 percent of income spent only 29.2 percent on housing. Additionally, those in the highest income quintile spent 17.7 percent of their total expenditure on personal insurance and pensions, while the lowest 20 percent spent only 2.1 percent.

In March 2025, inflation amounted to 2.4 percent, while wages grew by 4.3 percent. The inflation rate has not exceeded the rate of wage growth since January 2023. Inflation in 2022 The high rates of inflation in 2022 meant that the real terms value of American wages took a hit. Many Americans report feelings of concern over the economy and a worsening of their financial situation. The inflation situation in the United States is one that was experienced globally in 2022, mainly due to COVID-19 related supply chain constraints and disruption due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The monthly inflation rate for the U.S. reached a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1 percent, and annual inflation for 2022 reached eight percent. Without appropriate wage increases, Americans will continue to see a decline in their purchasing power. Wages in the U.S. Despite the level of wage growth reaching 6.7 percent in the summer of 2022, it has not been enough to curb the impact of even higher inflation rates. The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States has not increased since 2009, meaning that individuals working minimum wage jobs have taken a real terms pay cut for the last twelve years. There are discrepancies between states - the minimum wage in California can be as high as 15.50 U.S. dollars per hour, while a business in Oklahoma may be as low as two U.S. dollars per hour. However, even the higher wage rates in states like California and Washington may be lacking - one analysis found that if minimum wage had kept up with productivity, the minimum hourly wage in the U.S. should have been 22.88 dollars per hour in 2021. Additionally, the impact of decreased purchasing power due to inflation will impact different parts of society in different ways with stark contrast in average wages due to both gender and race.