Median household income

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The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more.^[1] The median income is considered by many statisticians to be a better indicator than the average household income as it is not dramatically affected by unusually high or low values."^[2] The U.S. Census Bureau uses the following definitions of median and mean income:

“

Median income is the amount which divides the income distribution into two equal groups, half having income above that amount, and half having income below that amount. Mean income (average) is the amount obtained by dividing the total aggregate income of a group by the number of units in that group. The means and medians for households and families are based on all households and families. Means and medians for people are based on people 15 years old and over with income.^[3]

”

Household income is not to be confused with family or personal income. Household income is often the combination of two income earners pooling the resources and should therefore not be confused with an individual's earnings. Even though the term family income may sometimes be used as a synonym for household income, the U.S. Census Bureau defines the two differently. While household income takes all households into account, family income only takes households with two or more persons related through blood, marriage or adoption into account.

1 International statistics
2 Median household income and the US economy
3 See also
4 References

International statistics [edit]

The annual median equivalised disposable household income for selected countries is shown in the table below. This is what a each equivalent adult in a household in the middle of the income distribution earns in a year.

Data is in United States dollars at current prices and current Purchasing power parity for the reference year.

Rank	Country	2007^[4]
1	Luxembourg	34,407
2	United States	31,111
3	Norway	31,011
4	Iceland	28,166
5	Australia	26,915
6	Switzerland	26,844
7	Canada	25,363
8	United Kingdom	25,168
9	Ireland	24,677
10	Austria	24,114
11	Netherlands	24,024
12	Sweden	22,889
13	Denmark	22,461
14	Belgium	21,532
15	Germany	21,241
16	Finland	20,875
17	New Zealand	20,679
18	France	19,615
19	Japan	19,432
20	South Korea	19,179
21	Slovenia	18,860
22	Spain	18,391
23	Italy	16,866
24	Greece	15,758
25	Israel	14,055
26	Czech Republic	12,596
27	Portugal	12,515
28	Estonia	9,836
29	Poland	9,113
30	Slovak Republic	9,071
31	Hungary	8,531
32	Chile	7,851
33	Turkey	5,940
34	Mexico	4,689
—	OECD	19,229

Median household income and the US economy [edit]

This graph shows the income of the given racial and ethnic groups, in 2011 dollars.^[5]

Since 1980, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) per capita has increased 67%,^[6] while median household income has only increased by 15%. An economic recession will normally cause household incomes to decrease, often by as much as 10% (Figure 1).

Median household income is a politically sensitive indicator. Voters can be critical of their government if they perceive that their cost of living is rising faster than their income. Figure 1 shows how American incomes have changed since 1970. The last recession was the early 2000s recession and was started with the bursting of the dot-com bubble. It affected most advanced economies including the European Union, Japan and the United States.

The current crisis began with the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, which caused a problem in the dangerously exposed sub prime-mortgage market. This in turn has triggered a global financial crisis. In constant price, 2011 American median household income is 1.13% lower than what it was in 1989. This corresponds to a 0.05% annual decrease over a 22-year period.^[7] In the mean time, GDP per capita has increased by 33.8% or 1.33% annually.^[8]

A comparison between Median Equivalised Household Income and GDP per Capita in USD for select developed countries is shown in the chart below.^[9]^[10]

Median Equivalised Income VS GDP per Capita

References [edit]

^ "U.S. Census Bureau: What is the difference between 'a median' and 'a mean'?". Retrieved 2011-09-13.
^ "U.S. Census Bureau on the nature the median in determining wealth". Retrieved 2006-06-29.
^ U.S. Census Bureau, Frequently Asked Question, published by First Gov.""U.S. Government, the different between mean and median". Archived from the original on 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
^ Society at a Glance 2011 - OECD Social Indicators, OECD, 12 April 2011.
^ DeNavas-Walt, Carmen; Proctor, Bernadette D.; Smith, Jessica C. (September 2012). "Real Median Household Income by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1967 to 2010". Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011. U.S. Census Bureau. p. 8.
^ IMF.org
^ Census.gov
^ BEA.gov
^ "OECD(2011), Society at a Glance 2011 - OECD Social Indicators". OECD. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
^ "World Economic Outlook database October 2007". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 12 March 2012.

v t e Demographics of the United States

Demographic history

Economic and social	Affluence Educational attainment Emigration Homeownership Household income Immigration Income inequality Language LGBT Middle classes Personal income Poverty Social class Unemployment by state Wealth

Religion	Prominent examples: Buddhists Christians Catholics Protestants, etc. Hindus Jews Muslims Neopagans Non-religious Sikhs

Race and ethnicity	People of the United States/Americans Ethnic groups in the United States American people by ethnic or national origin History of the United States by ethnic group American culture by ethnicity Race and ethnicity in the Census Maps of American ancestries 2010 Census in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Racism White Americans: European Americans Non-Hispanic Whites English Americans German Americans Irish Americans Italian Americans French Americans White Hispanic and Latino Americans Arab Americans Jewish Americans Israeli Americans Iranian Americans Black Americans: African Americans African immigrants and descendants Afro-Caribbean/West Indian Americans, etc. Black Hispanic and Latino Americans Asian Americans Chinese Americans Filipino Americans Indian Americans Vietnamese Americans Japanese Americans Pakistani Americans, etc. Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans Americans from other parts of the Americas: Canadian Hispanic and Latino Americans Mexican Americans Puerto Ricans (Stateside) Cuban Americans Colombian Americans, etc. Belizean American Guyanese American Multiracial Americans Native Americans and Alaska Natives Oceanic American: Pacific Islands Americans Chamorro Americans Native Hawaiians Samoan Americans Tongan Americans etc. Euro Oceanic American Australian American, New Zealand American Others ethnic groups Melungeon Roma in the United States

Contents

International statistics [edit]

Median household income and the US economy [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]