What is the median household income in the US?

Despite increasing wages, real median income fell by $1,750 in 2022 as inflation increased faster than income.

Published Fri, November 3, 2023 by the USAFacts Team

The real median household income in the US fell 2.3% between 2021 and 2022, in part due to fast-rising inflation, from $76,330 to $74,580. A household’s “real” income — also called “constant" income — is its income adjusted for inflation, to better indicate purchasing power.

A household’s income is calculated by adding up the pretax annual income earned by anyone in a household aged 15 or older. To determine the national median income, the Census Bureau ranks all US households by income and splits that list exactly in half: the bottom half of households fall below the median income, and the other half are above.

Median household income over time

Real median household income generally rises over time — from 1984 to 2013, it rose by about $9,000, before increasing sharply from 2014 ($64,900) to 2019 ($78,250).

Incomes typically dip before and after economic recessions (indicated by the gray bars in the graphic below), though not always.