Household Income Analysis

Interesting note by the The Tax Foundation on recent household income data. While a recent Census Report indicates that real median household income (adjusted for inflation) has declined since 1999, the tax foundation points out this is due to changes in “households.”

That is, households with 1 income earner and households with 2 or more income earners both saw their median income rise. But the proportion of households with zero or one income earner rose, and the proportion with two or more fell.

Thus, the decline in “real median household income” is due to fewer individuals with income per family, not lower incomes.