Income in the United States

Income in the United States is measured by the various federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Commerce, and the US Census Bureau. Additionally, various agencies, including the Congressional Budget Office compile reports on income statistics. The primary classifications are by household or individual. The top quintile in personal income in 2019 was $103,012^[2] (included in the chart below). The differences between household and personal income are considerable, since 61% of households now have two or more income earners.^[3]

2020 median personal income, ages 15 years or older^[4]
	All workers	Full-time workers
All	41,535	56,287
Men	49,389	61,417
Women	35,838	50,982

Median personal income in 2020 was $56,287 for full time workers.^[4]

This difference becomes very apparent when comparing the percentage of households with six figure incomes to that of individuals. Overall, including all households/individuals regardless of employment status, the median household income was $67,521 in 2020 while the median personal income (including individuals aged 15 and over) was $35,805.^[5]^[6]

While wages for women have increased greatly, median earnings of male wage earners have remained stagnant since the late 1970s.^[7]^[8] Household income, however, has risen due to the increasing number of households with more than one income earner and women's increased presence in the labor force.^[9]

Income Percentiles 2019

Source:^[2]

Inflation adjusted US Dollars - see IRS for further reading IRS.GOV income statistics

YEAR	0.001%	0.01%	0.10%	1%	2%	3%	4%	5%	10%	20%	25%	30%	40%	50%
2001	$31,331,335	$6,869,952	$1,393,718	$306,635	$207,592	$167,788	$145,667	$132,082	$96,151	$67,818	$59,026	$51,863	$40,293	$31,418
2002	$25,921,482	$5,891,214	$1,245,352	$296,194	$200,654	$164,409	$144,575	$130,750	$95,699	$67,928	$59,066	$51,721	$40,073	$31,299
2003	$28,489,160	$6,386,149	$1,317,088	$305,939	$205,565	$168,248	$147,132	$133,741	$97,470	$69,304	$59,896	$52,353	$40,383	$31,447
2004	$38,780,500	$8,455,107	$1,617,918	$339,993	$224,320	$181,127	$156,665	$140,758	$101,838	$72,069	$62,794	$54,765	$42,081	$32,622
2005	$50,796,495	$10,738,867	$1,938,175	$379,261	$245,392	$194,726	$167,281	$149,216	$106,864	$74,790	$64,821	$56,583	$43,361	$33,484
2006	$54,665,360	$11,649,460	$2,124,625	$402,603	$258,800	$205,835	$176,455	$157,390	$112,016	$77,776	$67,291	$58,505	$44,748	$34,417
2007	$62,955,875	$12,747,384	$2,251,017	$426,439	$270,440	$214,832	$184,473	$164,883	$116,396	$80,723	$69,559	$60,617	$46,200	$35,541
2008	$49,546,782	$10,097,827	$1,867,652	$392,513	$260,381	$209,750	$181,624	$163,512	$116,813	$80,886	$69,813	$60,535	$46,120	$35,340
2009	$34,381,494	$7,206,540	$1,469,393	$351,968	$243,096	$198,731	$174,432	$157,342	$114,181	$79,237	$68,216	$58,876	$44,529	$34,156
2010	$45,039,369	$8,762,618	$1,634,386	$369,691	$252,785	$205,942	$179,023	$161,579	$116,623	$80,462	$69,126	$59,512	$44,895	$34,338
YEAR	0.001%	0.01%	0.10%	1%	2%	3%	4%	5%	10%	20%	25%	30%	40%	50%
2011	$41,965,258	$8,830,028	$1,717,675	$388,905	$262,933	$213,441	$185,812	$167,728	$120,136	$82,241	$70,492	$60,789	$45,722	$34,823
2012	$62,068,187	$12,104,014	$2,161,175	$434,682	$285,908	$227,923	$196,416	$175,817	$125,195	$85,440	$73,354	$63,222	$47,475	$36,055
2013	$45,097,112	$9,460,540	$1,860,848	$428,713	$287,018	$231,507	$200,472	$179,760	$127,695	$87,434	$74,955	$64,650	$48,463	$36,841
2014	$56,981,718	$11,407,987	$2,136,762	$465,626	$306,650	$245,902	$211,261	$188,996	$133,445	$90,606	$77,714	$66,868	$50,083	$38,173
2015	$59,380,503	$11,930,649	$2,220,264	$480,930	$316,913	$253,979	$218,911	$195,778	$138,031	$93,212	$79,655	$68,632	$51,571	$39,275
2016	$53,052,900	$10,963,921	$2,124,117	$480,804	$319,796	$256,673	$221,381	$197,651	$139,713	$94,620	$80,921	$69,581	$52,529	$40,078
2017	$63,430,119	$12,899,070	$2,374,937	$515,371	$339,478	$271,182	$232,955	$208,053	$145,135	$97,870	$83,682	$72,268	$54,672	$41,740
2018	$68,934,261	$13,576,286	$2,514,209	$540,009	$359,368	$286,106	$245,050	$217,913	$151,935	$101,765	$87,044	$75,083	$57,092	$43,614
2019	$60,658,598	$12,623,539	$2,458,432	$546,434	$364,693	$291,384	$249,320	$221,572	$154,589	$103,012	$87,917	$75,991	$57,685	$44,269

Income at a glance

Median household income by selected characteristics ^[10]
Type of household			Race and Hispanic origin				Region
All households	Family households	Nonfamily households	Asian	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic (of any race)	Black	Northeast	Midwest	South	West
$70,784	$91,162	$41,797	$101,418	$77,999	$57,981	$48,297	$77,422	$71,129	$63,368	$79,430

Median household income by selected characteristics cont.
Age of Householder		Nativity of Householder		Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Status		Educational Attainment of Householder*
Under 65 years	65 years and older	Native-born	Foreign-born	Inside MSA	Outside MSA	No high school diploma	High school, no college	Some college	Bachelor's degree or higher
$80,734	$47,620	$71,522	$66,043	$73,823	$53,750	$30,378	$50,401	$64,378	$115,456
*Householders aged 25 and older. In 2021, the median household income for this group was $72,046.

Median earnings by work status and sex (Persons, aged 15 years and older with earnings)
Total workers			Full-Time, year-round workers
Both sexes	Male	Female	Both sexes	Male	Female
$45,470	$50,983	$39,201	$56,473	$61,180	$51,226

2020 Median earnings & household income by educational attainment ^[11] ^[12]
Measure	Overall	Less than 9th grade	Some High School	High school graduate	Some college	Associate's degree	Bachelor's degree or higher	Bachelor's degree	Master's degree	Professional degree	Doctorate degree
Persons, age 25+ w/ earnings*	$46,985	$25,162	$26,092	$34,540	$39,362	$42,391	$66,423	$60,705	$71,851	$102,741	$101,526
Male, age 25+ w/ earnings*	$52,298	$30,089	$31,097	$40,852	$47,706	$52,450	$80,192	$71,666	$91,141	$126,584	$121,956
Female, age 25+ w/ earnings*	$40,392	$18,588	$19,504	$27,320	$31,837	$36,298	$57,355	$51,154	$62,522	$92,780	$85,551
Persons, age 25+, employed full-time	$59,371	$33,945	$34,897	$42,417	$50,640	$52,285	$77,105	$71,283	$82,183	$130,466	$119,552
Household	$69,228	$29,609	$29,520	$47,405	$60,392	$68,769	$106,936	$100,128	$114,900	$151,560	$142,493
*Total work experience

Household income distribution
10th percentile	20th percentile	30th percentile	40th percentile	50th percentile	60th percentile	70th percentile	80th percentile	90th percentile	95th percentile
≤ $15,700	≤ $28,000	≤ $40,500	≤ $55,000	$70,800	≤ $89,700	≤ $113,200	≤ $149,100	≤ $212,100	≤ $286,300
Source: US Census Bureau, 2021; income statistics for the year 2021