Median Household Income In January 2024 (2024)

FAQs

What is the median US household income in 2024? ›

The median household income across all 345 cities is $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590.

What is the average middle class income? In 2024, a large U.S. city's middle-class income averages between $52,000 and $155,000, with the median household income across all 345 cities at $77,345, making middle-class income limits fall between $51,558 and $154,590, SmartAsset noted.

Median Household Income. Household income is the total income of all members of a household aged 15 and older, whether they are related or not. To determine the average household income, all household incomes are added up and divided by the total number of households.

Real median household income was $74,580 in 2022, a 2.3 percent decline from the 2021 estimate of $76,330 (Figure 1 and Table A-1).

A household consists of all people who occupy a housing unit regardless of relationship. A household may consist of a person living alone or multiple unrelated individuals or families living together. Median family income is typically higher than median household income because of the composition of households.

“A salary range of $80,001 to $95,000 is more reasonable for living comfortably, this aligns more closely with the reality in high-cost living areas.”

A family of four in California needs to earn nearly $70,000 annually to still be considered middle class in 2023, according to a new report by ConsumerAffairs.

Where you rank by income. According to the Census Bureau's Income in the United States: 2022 report, the median household income is $74,580 (a 2.3% decline from 2021), while household income levels for each class level are as follows: Lower class: less than or equal to $30,000. Lower-middle class: $30,001 – $58,020.

If you earn this much, you're in the middle class

According to the Census data, here's how household income breaks down in the United States: Households in the lowest quintile: $30,000 or less. Households in the second quintile: $30,001 to $58,020. Households in the third quintile: $58,021 to $94,000.

Is it better to use average or median income? ›

Averages are useful and easy to calculate but can be skewed higher by extremely high outlier incomes at the top end. Medians arrange incomes from lowest to highest, then identify the middlemost income where an equal number fall above and below. This eliminates the outsized influence of outliers.

The states with the highest median household income are Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The states with the lowest median household income are Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas.

“Good income is relative to the average household income in America, which is $78,000 right now.” Real median household income in the U.S. was $78,250 in 2019 and fell to $74,580 in 2022, according to the Census Bureau. "You're not a bad person. You're not a horrible income earner.

The Takeaway

The average annual average salary in the U.S. is $63,795. The median annual salary, which is often less skewed by outlying numbers, is $59,384. It's worth noting that average and median salaries vary quite a bit by state.

With the annual inflation rate for 2023 at 3.4% for the year — up from 3.1% previously — salaries aren't keeping up. A Smart Asset report based on MIT's Living Wage data found that the average salary required to live comfortably in the U.S. is $68,499 after taxes.

Based on that figure, an annual income of $500,000 or more would make you rich. The Economic Policy Institute uses a different baseline to determine who constitutes the top 1% and the top 5%. For 2021, you're in the top 1% if you earn $819,324 or more each year. The top 5% of income earners make $335,891 per year.

Real median household income is the inflation-adjusted amount of money the median household earns annually. In 2021, the real median household income was $70,784, a decrease of $402 or 0.54% from 2020.

Median income is the middle number in the data set, which can be determined by placing all the numbers in value order and finding the middle number in the data set. If there are two middle numbers, then take the average of the two middle numbers to obtain your median income.

Household income includes all sources of income for you, your family members and anyone else who lives with you above a certain age. It refers to the gross income of your household, which is income before any taxes or other deductions are taken from the paycheck.

What percentage of US households make over $100000 a year? ›

Over one-third of American families earn $100,000 or more

The U.S. Census Bureau found that 37.1% of U.S. households earned at least $100,000 in 2022. Here's a more detailed breakdown of six-figure income brackets and the percentage of households in each one: $100,000 to $149,999: 16.9% $150,000 to $199,999: 8.7%

Median household income in the U.S. is expected to hit $73,868 in 2026, up from $67,761 in 2021, with 18 states expected to post double-digit percentage gains.

A $200,000 household income is more than most people earn across the U.S. In fact, just 12% of U.S. households earn $200,000 or more annually, according to Census Bureau data.