Median Household Income
The Census Bureau's median household income in current dollars, annual since 1984 (published each September for the prior year). Half of US households earn more, half less — the standard denominator for affordability math, from housing to healthcare.
Latest reading
As of January 2024, Median Income (Median household income ($)) stands at 83.7K — up from 80.6K the prior reading. Nominal income rises most years; the informative read is against costs — the Real Estate Tracker divides the typical-home payment by this series. Note the ~9-month publication lag: the latest print always describes LAST year's incomes, so in fast-moving inflation episodes the affordability picture is slightly better (or worse) than the ratio shows. Series history runs from 1984 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-07-20 · Open ↓Close ↑
Median household income ($)
- YoY %
- 3.9%
Full history
Methodology & data
Median Income is sourced from Census via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (US Census Bureau via FRED (MEHOINUSA646N), annual, current dollars). We pull the complete history, chart it on a annual basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-07-20. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Median Household Income?
The Census Bureau's median household income in current dollars, annual since 1984 (published each September for the prior year). Half of US households earn more, half less — the standard denominator for affordability math, from housing to healthcare.
How do you read Median Income?
Nominal income rises most years; the informative read is against costs — the Real Estate Tracker divides the typical-home payment by this series. Note the ~9-month publication lag: the latest print always describes LAST year's incomes, so in fast-moving inflation episodes the affordability picture is slightly better (or worse) than the ratio shows.
Where does the Median Income data come from?
US Census Bureau via FRED (MEHOINUSA646N), annual, current dollars. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/median-household-income.csv.
How often is Median Income updated?
Median Income is a annual series from Census, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
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