Average
Income in the USA by Family and Household
I
have to make few comments about Ceylon.
We
do not have people starving (relatively in the South) or eating from
bins.
Our
food is cheap and there are plenty of alternatives and variations.
Our
immunization program is good enough but not up to the International
Standards.
Often
the imported items are substandard.
Dengue
is a ploy used by doctors both in private and government practice to
hoodwink the poor patients’ relatives to abscond liability in
courts of law.
No
proper diagnosis in most cases and no postmortems!
Clothing
industry is robust and cloths are cheap.
Public
and private transport is in dilapidated state.
I
have a saying that if we “Abolish The Post of Presidency” (real
white elephant) for 10 years, we can improve the transport system
including introducing few domestic air lines, for people in the
North, instead of giving India our air space to drop Mysoor dhal
(Parippu) in crisis.
Never
trust Indian Politicians.
They
bring AIDS (kidney donors, etc), Malaria and exotic diseases from
their own hospitals.
I
love Indian cricketers including Kholi, so do not take it as an
Indian slur.
Our
monks are fabulously rich and now devote more time on politics than
the spread of Dhamma.
They,
more or less spread hate on minorities and Islam (phobia)!
Learning
second language especially English is poorer than Bangladesh, if not
India. Read either Sinhala or Tamil papers.
Television
/ Media are owned by partisan individuals.
There
is no balanced reporting.
Political
parties have NO democratic ways and are almost owned by individuals.
They
are hegemonies.
Latest
is religious hegemony.
Election
commissioner has failed to admonish religious and astrological
hegemony in spite of blatant violation of the election law.
He
only talks.
NATO.
No
Action
Talk
Only
SHOW.
We
applaud him for his failures.
This
is a very good article.
We
in Ceylon manipulate these figures to hoodwink the WHO and UNO.
Average
Income in the USA by Family and Household
Updated
September 16, 2019
Average
income is any statistic that describes how much money an individual,
family, or household makes. The U.S. Census Bureau reports average
U.S. incomes in September of each year.
The
Census reports two kinds of averages. The mean sums up all incomes
and divides by the number of people reporting. The median income is
the point where half the people make more and half make less. The
mean income is usually higher. That's because the few people who
make enormous amounts of money skew the results higher. In the mean,
they outweigh the many who make low incomes. That gives an
inaccurate estimate because it's affected by the income inequality
in the United States. For this reason, most reports use the median
income.
The
Census reports average income for three different groups:
-
Income
per person is the income for each person at age 15 or older. It's
more commonly known as income per capita.
-
Family
income is average for a family of two or more related people living
in a household. They can be related by birth, marriage, or
adoption.
-
Household
income is the average income of all people living in a housing
unit. It doesn't matter if they are living alone, with a family, or
with a group of unrelated individuals.
-
Real
income removes the effects of inflation. To compare income levels
over time, you must use real income. Nominal income ignores the
changing cost of living. That's also the difference between real
versus nominal GDP.
When
looking at average income, you must pay attention to what it
measures specifically. Always determine whether it's the mean or
median. Find out whether it's per capita, family, or household. Last
but not least, be sure you know whether it's real or nominal.
The
Census breaks out average incomes for many different groups. These
include age, relationship to the household, race, education, and
type of housing. It reports income levels in $2,500 increments. The
Census will release the next report on 2018 average incomes in
September 2019.
2017
Average Income
The
2017 nominal median income per capita was $31,786. The mean income
per capita was $48,150. The Census Bureau reports those in the
Current Population Survey, Table PINC-01.
Real
median household income was $61,372.
At
first glance, it was a new record, but the Census warns that it
modified its questions. As a result, the household income was about
the same as in 2007 and 1999. The Census reports household income in
Table HINC-01.
The
federal government uses the median household income to establish
poverty levels. That determines eligibility for Obamacare subsidies
and welfare programs.
Real
median family income was $75,938. The real mean family income was
$100,400. The government uses the family income for statistical
purposes, such as reporting the poverty threshold. The Census
reports family income in Table FINC-01.
U.S.
Average Income Has Caught Up
The
table below compares the change in income through the 2001 and 2008
recessions. Incomes didn't start improving until 2006, just as the
seeds of the 2008 financial crisis were being planted. That's when
the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. As mortgages became more
expensive, homes prices fell. Mortgage defaults began to rise. But
the crisis didn't spread to the general economy until 2008. The Dow
hit its peak in November 2007.
Most
of the jobs created before the recession were in financial services
and construction. Those jobs did not return in 2009. Instead, jobs
were in low-paying areas such as retail and food services. Many
employers hired temporary or freelance workers instead of offering
full-time positions.
To
make matters worse, the government did not create jobs. The Bush
administration relied on tax cuts and military spending to boost the
economy. Neither are good job creators. President Obama had the
right idea in spending more on education and public works. Those
types of programs are the best unemployment solutions.
After
the 2010 mid-term elections, the Republican majority in Congress
focused on reducing the debt instead of creating jobs. The
unemployment rate fell as people dropped out of the labor force, but
incomes did not rise.
In
2013, the Fed did what it could by keeping interest rates low. But
those low rates created an asset bubble in the stock market, which
hit new highs. At the same time, average income levels briefly rose.
In
2014, new technology in shale oil drilling boosted incomes in
Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, but
incomes fell in those areas when oil prices did. Washington D.C. and
the states around it, specifically West Virginia, Virginia, and
Maryland, also improved.
In
2015, income levels rose as unemployment fell. The situation further
improved in 2016, when the average income exceeded the pre-recession
peak.
Historical
Real Median Household Income, Economic Growth, and Unemployment
| Year |
Income |
Change |
GDP
Growth |
Jobless
Rate |
Events |
| 1997 |
$55,218 |
2.1% |
4.4% |
4.7% |
|
| 1998 |
$57,248 |
3.7% |
4.5% |
4.4% |
LTCM
crisis |
| 1999 |
$58,665 |
2.5% |
4.8% |
4.0% |
Y2K
scare |
| 2000 |
$58,544 |
-0.2% |
4.1% |
3.9% |
NASDAQ
bubble burst |
| 2001 |
$57,246 |
-2.2% |
1.0% |
5.7% |
EGTRRA,
9/11 attacks |
| 2002 |
$56,599 |
-1.1% |
1.7% |
6.0% |
War
on Terror |
| 2003 |
$56,528 |
-0.1% |
2.9% |
5.7% |
JGTRRA |
| 2004 |
$56,332 |
-0.3% |
3.8% |
5.4% |
Business
growth |
| 2005 |
$56,935 |
1.1% |
3.5% |
4.9% |
Incomes
improve |
| 2006 |
$57,379 |
0.8% |
2.9% |
4.4% |
Fed
raised rates |
| 2007 |
$58,149 |
1.3% |
1.9% |
5.0% |
Subprime
crisis |
| 2008 |
$56,076 |
-3.6% |
-0.1% |
7.3% |
Financial
crisis |
| 2009 |
$55,683 |
-0.7% |
-2.5% |
9.9% |
ARRA |
| 2010 |
$54,245 |
-2.6% |
2.6% |
9.3% |
Obama
tax cuts |
| 2011 |
$53,401 |
-1.6% |
1.6% |
8.5% |
Austerity
measures |
| 2012 |
$53,331 |
-0.1% |
2.2% |
7.8% |
See
US 2012Asian crisis |
| 2013 |
$55,214 |
3.5% |
1.8% |
6.7% |
LFPR
drops |
| 2014 |
$54,398 |
-1.5% |
2.5% |
5.6% |
Strong
dollar |
| 2015 |
$57,230 |
5.2% |
2.9% |
5.0% |
Natural
jobless rate |
| 2016 |
$59,039 |
3.2% |
1.6% |
4.7% |
Presidential
race |
| 2017 |
$61,372 |
N.A. |
2.2% |
4.1% |
See
note below |
Poverty
(The
percentage change for 2017 is not applicable because the Census
changed the question. Table sources: "Current Population
Survey," Table FINC-1., U.S. Census, September 13, 2018. "GDP
Growth Rate by Year," "Unemployment Rate by Year.")
As
a result of the worsening of the average income, 43.1 million
Americans lived below the federal poverty threshold. In 2017, that
was $24,858 for a typical family of four. This is more than just the
"usual suspects," such as illegal immigrants, inner-city
poor, and the homeless. This is every third person you meet today.
How
did this happen?
In
2008, real wages decreased 0.8%. Real wages measure the purchasing
power of a family's income. Although wages increased by 3.7% in
2008, prices rose even more.
U.S.
wage levels are compressed to compete with pay levels in foreign
countries such as China and India. They have a much lower cost of
living. At the same time, the education and skill level of foreign
labor forces are increasing. Furthermore, technology and the spread
of English makes it easier to employ foreign workers. Outsourcing
has hit hardest in call centers and computer programming.
Capitalism
requires U.S. companies to employ these lower-cost, skilled
employees. Otherwise, they will lose market share to international
competitors.
Does
the minimum wage keep you out of poverty?
No.
If you were earning the U.S. minimum wager and you were the only
breadwinner for a family of four, you would fall beneath the poverty
line. The minimum wage pays a full-time worker $15,080 a year.
That's less than the $11.95 per hour needed to keep a family out of
poverty.
Single
people earning the minimum wage cannot afford to rent their own
apartment in any major city. They must rent a room or live with
roommates. Their best chances to find an apartment are in college
towns, small towns in low-income states, and in rural areas.
Congress
has kept the minimum wage the same since 2009. If the minimum wage
had been adjusted for the cost of living over the last 40 years, it
would be $10.41 an hour. If it had kept up with executive level pay
increases, it would be $23/hour. Then the minimum wage would be a
living wage.
At
the same time, prices of food and oil increased when the dollar
declined between 2000 and 2006. The Clean Energy Act raised prices
by diverting corn crops to the production of ethanol. That raised
the price of corn, a primary feedstock for beef, also leading to
higher food prices.
Middle-Class
Income
The
U.S. economic crisis spread the pain felt by America's poor and
working poor to the middle class. While the cost of food and
gasoline rose, wages stayed the same. The resultant squeeze on the
middle class led to unprecedented debt levels. Families racked up
credit
card debt just
to pay for their daily lives.
Today,
the middle class has the most economic
mobility of
anyone in America. They can make it to the upper classes. The best
pathway is still education. But it is so expensive it hasbecome a
form of
structural inequality.
As a result, it is difficult for the poor to become wealthy. The
rags-to-riches promise of the
American Dream has
dimmed.
