How Much Does the Average American Make? Important FAQs answered

For example, to be considered an upper class, one person should earn a minimum of $78,281. For a household of five, the minimum amount needed to be regarded as upper class is $175,041. According to research, nearly 20% of Americans are upper class.

average income of an american

The comparison to the expense of living is undoubtedly fascinating. As a result, research is presently being done to ascertain whether the most recent increase in the https://1investing.in/ US median income has also resulted in higher pricing. The poverty rate did, however, experience a significant increase from 2019 to 2020, rising to 11.4 percent.

Income Level Distribution In US

Among non-Hispanic Whites, 8.2 percent were in poverty in 2020, while Hispanics had a poverty rate of 17.0 percent. Among the major racial groups examined in this report, Blacks had the highest poverty rate (19.5 percent), but did not experience a significant change from 2019. The poverty rate for Asians (8.1 percent) in 2020 was not statistically different from 2019 (Figure 9 and Table B-1). According to the latest available data, the median household income for 2020 was $67,521, representing a decrease of 2.9% from 2019.

average income of an american

The need for multiple incomes often poses challenges with regard to having children. Many families can’t afford child care, but they also can’t afford to slash their household income in half. It’s a tricky problem with no particularly good solution at present. You should also keep in mind when you’re financially planning for the future that your salary isn’t your take home pay. You can use a paycheck calculator to figure out how much you’ll be taking home from your salary at every age, so you can factor that into your investing strategy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides timely information on this topic, which we have analyzed below.

The median yearly income for white non-Hispanic households was $74,912. However, Black Americans earned a median income of just $45,870, and Hispanics $55,321. The highest earners of all were Americans of Asian descent, at $94,903 per year. The Northeast is the most affluent part of the U.S., where the median household income was $75,211.

Average Income of a US Household

While the gap remains numerically unchanged, the percentage difference between the two races has decreased as a result of mutual increases in median personal income. In the United States the most widely cited personal income statistics are the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s personal income and the Census Bureau’s per capita money income. The two statistics spring from different traditions of measurement—personal income from national economic accounts and money income from household surveys.

The aggregate income measures the combined income earned by all persons in a particular income group. In 2018, the total personal income earned in the United States was $17.6 trillion. In 2008, all households in the United States earned roughly $12,442.2 billion. One half, 49.98%, of all income in the US was earned by households with an income over $100,000, the top twenty percent.

  • Though there were slight dips of 2.76 percent in 2013 and 1.46 percent in 2017, the average American income has actually been increasing steadily in recent years.
  • Household income is an economic standard that can be applied to one household, or aggregated across a large group such as a county, city, or the whole country.
  • As a reference point, the US minimum wage since 2009 has been $7.25 per hour or $15,080 for the 2080 hours in a typical work year.
  • In 2017 United States income inequality was ranked 41 out of 156 countries.
  • The Asian-American population is expected to continue growing rapidly over the years.
  • To get a sense of the “actual top 1% income” for an age, look at the surrounding years to get a better feel for the data.

Black men have the lowest weekly earnings, with a median of $816 per week. The weekly median earnings for full-time wage or salary workers in the United States in the second quarter of 2021 amounted to $990. Any amount above that should theoretically be considered a good salary; however, it is not as easy as that. What is considered a good salary in one city may not be so in another. Other factors that determine a good salary are the type of job, level of education, and, sadly, even gender and race. Households headed by persons between the ages of 45 and 54 had a median household income of $61,111 and a mean household income of $77,634.

Family Median Income

For both figures, we take the latest official numbers, which are usually those of the previous year. For the vast majority of countries, the above table is based on information from 2021. In some countries, however, these starting figures are not collected regularly or published and may be older or official estimates from the institutions mentioned above.

But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Amelia JosephsonAmelia Josephson is a writer passionate about covering financial literacy topics. Amelia’s work has appeared across the web, including on AOL, CBS News and The Simple Dollar.

As an Asian American, I wanted to invest as much as possible so I no longer had to deal with gatekeepers. Yes, we can hypothesize that those who are already financially savvy care more about financial information than those who aren’t. But we should also conclude that over time, those who read personal finance websites tend to get richer than those who do not. The same cannot be said for everyone who disagreed with my 1/10th rule for car buying.

After all, the more you make, the more you can save for an emergency or retirement. This is in contrast to Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico, who have a median income, in US$, of 19,775. The median salary of 35- to 44-year-olds is $1,127 per week or $58,604 per year.

average income of an american

Among them is a deep chasm between affluent and poor parts of the country. The median income for 2020 was down largely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Anderson is CPA, doctor of accounting, and an accounting average income of an american and finance professor who has been working in the accounting and finance industries for more than 20 years. Her expertise covers a wide range of accounting, corporate finance, taxes, lending, and personal finance areas.

The Takeaway: How Much Does the Average American Make?

Definitely check to see how your finances are shaping up as it’s free. You don’t have to be rich to get a great education because access to information is now free. Soak up as much information as you can and share your favorite articles with as many people as possible. I’m absolutely positive we’ll see a tremendous improvement in our finances over the next generation.

That’s the median across all races, genders and education levels. The answer to how your earnings compare to others in your age group largely depends on where you live and what you do. But knowing the median salary of people the same age can tell you if you’re generally keeping up, pacing ahead or lagging behind your peers. Knowing what older generations earn can also give you a sense of what to aim for and look forward to. For help growing your savings and managing your investments so that you can prepare for potential salaries at every age group, consider consulting a financial advisor. Considering other racial and geographical differences in regards to household income, it should come as no surprise that the median household income varies with race, size of household and geography.

For example, women will earn between $1 million and $1.5 million less than their male counterparts. Having a bachelor’s degree, however, can add about $250,000 to $500,000 to the total sum. The average salary for a software engineer in the US is $117,032. According to Indeed, software engineers make on average $4,500 in cash bonuses per year.