US Median Household Income 2025: $87,460, Up 2.6% — Census Bureau Report P60-289
US median household income was $87,460 in 2025, up 2.6% from $85,210; the Census Bureau says household income was the highest on record dating back to 1967. Post-tax median rose 3.1% to $76,060.
The headline number
The Census Bureau's annual income report says: “In 2025, median household income was $87,460, an increase of 2.6 percent from the 2024 estimate of $85,210”. It adds: “Household income in 2025 was the highest on record dating back to 1967”. The report covers calendar year 2025 and is “based on information collected in the 2026 and earlier Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements (CPS ASEC)”.[1]
The report uses two income measures. The headline figure is “money income, which is pretax and does not account for the value of in-kind transfers”. The second is “post-tax income, which is money income net of federal and states taxes and credits, as well as payroll taxes (FICA)”. On that second measure, “Median household income after accounting for taxes and credits increased by 3.1 percent, from $73,760 in 2024 to $76,060 in 2025”.[1]
Is the 2.6% rise after inflation? (this page's reading)
The report states that “historical income and earnings estimates in this report are expressed in real or 2025 dollars”, using the “Chained Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)” for 2000 onward. This page reads that note as meaning the 2024 comparison figure of $85,210 is in 2025 dollars, so the 2.6 percent is an increase after inflation adjustment; the report page itself does not print the 2024 figure in 2024 dollars.[1]
The 2024 number may also differ from what was published a year ago: “Estimates for 2024 in this report may not match those published last year due to the implementation of Vintage 2025 population controls”. Comparing this year's 2024 figure with last year's report may therefore not be like-for-like.[1]
Who gained, and what “not significantly” means
Between 2024 and 2025, “median income increased by 3.0 percent for White households, 2.9 percent for non-Hispanic White households, and 4.8 percent for Black households”. But “Median income did not change significantly for Asian or Hispanic households”. The phrase “did not change significantly” is a statistical statement, not a statement that nothing moved: “All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and are statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level unless otherwise noted”.[1]
The same caution applies to earnings. Among full-time, year-round workers, “median earnings increased 3.2 percent for women but did not change significantly for men between 2024 and 2025”, and “the female-to-male earnings ratio in 2025 increased to 83.9 percent from 80.6 percent in 2024”.[1]
Top rose, bottom flat, inequality index unchanged
“Household income increased 1.7 percent at the 90th percentile but did not significantly change at the 10th percentile between 2024 and 2025”. Read alone, that sounds like a widening gap. But the same Highlights say “Income inequality as measured by the Gini index was not significantly different between 2024 and 2025”. The report does not describe inequality as having widened, and this page does not either. The percentile changes and the Gini index are separate measures.[1]
What this page could not establish
This page is based only on the report's web page (introduction, highlights and notes). The tables and figures, which are separate files, were not opened, so this page gives no state, age or household-type breakdowns and no margins of error. It also does not give nominal (not inflation-adjusted) figures. The report notes that “all estimates in this report have undergone additional rounding. As a result, details may not sum to totals”.[1]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
US median household income in 2025 was $87,460, an increase of 2.6 percent from the 2024 estimate of $85,210.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The Census Bureau says household income in 2025 was the highest on record dating back to 1967.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Median household income after taxes and credits rose 3.1 percent, from $73,760 in 2024 to $76,060 in 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
For full-time, year-round workers, the female-to-male earnings ratio rose to 83.9 percent in 2025 from 80.6 percent in 2024.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Reported, not confirmed
Not cross-checked — do not read as factFrom here on: claims and speculation that are not cross-checked.
Because the report expresses historical estimates in 2025 dollars, the 2.6 percent rise compares 2025 with 2024 income already adjusted for inflation; the report page does not give the 2024 figure in 2024 dollars.[1] single-source ×1 · This page's reading of the report's note on real dollars
The top of the distribution rose (90th percentile +1.7 percent) while the 10th percentile did not change significantly, yet the Gini index was not significantly different; the report does not say inequality widened.[1] single-source ×1 · This page's reading of the Highlights
Timeline
- 2026-09-15
Census Bureau publishes Income in the United States: 2025 (P60-289), covering calendar year 2025.[1]
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- Breakdowns beyond race (including whether state-level data exist) and margins of error
- The 2024 median in 2024 (nominal) dollars and the inflation index values
- Model
- claude-opus-5.5
- Time
- 10/01/2026, 05:02
- Body characters
- 3,310
- Sources
- 1 source adopted
- Model
- claude-opus-5.5 (independent review agent)
- Time
- 10/01/2026, 05:02
- Verdict
- Passed
Show revision history (3)
| 10/01/2026, 05:02 | First authored (claude-opus-5.5) | Created |
| 10/01/2026 | First version. Based only on the Census Bureau report page for P60-289, read in full. 18 quotations in the body machine-checked against the page text. | Updated |
| 10/01/2026 | Applied seven points from an independent review that re-read the source: the inflation reading is now flagged as this page's reading in the heading, the section and the FAQ; "not like-for-like" softened to "may not be"; removed an unsourced characterisation of the survey; the summary now attributes the 1967 record to household income as the source does; unknowns corrected (state-level data not confirmed to exist) and nominal 2024 figures added. | Updated |
Frequently asked
What was US median household income in 2025?
$87,460, according to the Census Bureau report Income in the United States: 2025 (P60-289), published 15 September 2026.[1]
How much did median household income rise in 2025?
2.6 percent, from $85,210 in 2024. The report says historical estimates are expressed in real or 2025 dollars; this page reads the 2.6 percent as an increase after inflation adjustment.[1]
Is $87,460 a record?
The report says household income in 2025 was the highest on record dating back to 1967.[1]
What was median household income after taxes?
$76,060 in 2025, up 3.1 percent from $73,760 in 2024, on the report's post-tax income measure.[1]
Did income inequality increase in 2025?
The report says the Gini index was not significantly different between 2024 and 2025. Income rose 1.7 percent at the 90th percentile and did not change significantly at the 10th.[1]
What is the gender earnings ratio in 2025?
83.9 percent for full-time, year-round workers, up from 80.6 percent in 2024. Women's median earnings rose 3.2 percent; men's did not change significantly.[1]
Official links
- Official Census Bureau — Income and Poverty