The income for the typical U.S. household barely rose last year and essentially matched its 2019 peak, the Census Bureau said Tuesday, a stark illustration of the impact that the pandemic inflation spike had on Americans' finances.
The report also showed that the highest-earning households received healthy inflation-adjusted income increases, while middle- and lower-income households saw little gain.
Median household income, adjusted for inflation, in 2024 was $83,730, the Census Bureau said, a 1.3% increase from the previous year's level of $82,690. The median is the midpoint between the highest- and lowest-income households, and helps filter out the impact of very high and very low incomes that can skew averages.
The figures help illustrate why many Americans have been dissatisfied with the economy since the pandemic, even as unemployment has been historically low: Median household incomes are essentially unchanged from five years earlier, the report showed. Median household income was $83,260 in 2019, the report said, and the slightly higher figure for 2024 is within the margin of error and therefore reflects little change from five years earlier, Census officials said.
The report also showed that the highest-earning households received healthy inflation-adjusted income increases, while middle- and lower-income households saw little gain.
Median household income, adjusted for inflation, in 2024 was $83,730, the Census Bureau said, a 1.3% increase from the previous year's level of $82,690. The median is the midpoint between the highest- and lowest-income households, and helps filter out the impact of very high and very low incomes that can skew averages.
The figures help illustrate why many Americans have been dissatisfied with the economy since the pandemic, even as unemployment has been historically low: Median household incomes are essentially unchanged from five years earlier, the report showed. Median household income was $83,260 in 2019, the report said, and the slightly higher figure for 2024 is within the margin of error and therefore reflects little change from five years earlier, Census officials said.
