What's The Average Income In The US?

The United States is a country where it’s believed that with hard work and a little bit of luck anyone will make plenty of money. The U.S. is full of people who work as doctors, teachers, computer engineers, farmers, welders, architects, nurses, factory workers, tradesmen/women, and so much more. Salaries vary greatly across occupations and may depend on education, experience, or even gender. The Social Security Administration (SSA) reported the average wage in the US was $47,060 in 2019.

Average Income In The US By Gender

All male workers earned an average of $44,408 in 2017, which was up 3.0% from 2016. Women workers made an average of $31,610 in 2017. There was not a statically significant increase in women’s wages from 2016-2017. The number of men working full-time, year-round increased by 1.4 million and women working full-time, year round increased by about 1 million from 2016-2017. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that full-time workers made an average of $865 a week in 2017.

Average Household Income

The average household income in the US rose 0.8% to $61,937 between 2017 and 2018. The U.S.’s median household income has increased every year since 2013. Maryland had the highest median household income of any state in the US at $83,242. West Virginia had the lowest median household income at $44,097. Large metropolitan areas also had a range of incomes. For example, San Francisco had a median household income of $107,898 and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater had a median household income of $54,912. Median household income also increased for all households from all major brace groups and Hispanic origin groups from 2017 to 2018.

Poverty In The US

United States takes income statistics for a few reasons. Income levels establish poverty rates in the US. The median income shows how much money people in the US earn. Income statistics display that one way to increase a person’s income is through higher education.

Despite rising incomes of some demographics, there are a portion of U.S. citizens that are considered to live in poverty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2017 poverty rate was 12.3%, which was down 0.4% from the 2016 rate. Poverty decreased for people in families, people living in the West, those living outside of Metropolitan statistical area, all workers, workers who work less than full-time year-round, people with the disabilities, people with a high school diploma but no college degree, and people with some college but no degree. In 2017 there were about 39.7 million people who lived in poverty. Interestingly, between 2016 and 2017 people who are earned at least a bachelor’s degree were the only group to have an increase in the poverty rate.

Distribution Of Wealth

An income of $32,400 per year puts someone in the top 1% of income or earners around the world according to Global Rich List. To be in the top 1% of wealth, a person needs to have at least $770,000. 1% of the world’s population has approximately 47% of global wealth according to Credit Suisse's 2018 Global Wealth Report.

Collecting median income information can represent an economic trend or help point to a problem in income discrepancies between different demographics.