According to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), the median household income in the United States fell by 0.8 percent in 2022. The median household income last year was $74,755, adjusted for inflation.
Despite the median household income being adjusted for inflation, the dip is an indication of why Americans are concerned about the current state of the economy.
Five states – Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Florida and Utah – saw median household incomes increase in 2022, while 17 states saw decreases. Twenty-eight states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico saw no significant differences, the survey found.
New Jersey had the highest median household income of any state at $96,346, while the District of Columbia saw the highest in the country overall with $101,027. Mississippi ranked lowest of any state at $52,719 and Puerto Rico saw the lowest overall median household income at $24,112.
In June 2022 consumer prices reached 9.1 percent, a forty-year-high, compared to the year prior, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Food, housing and gasoline saw the largest price increases last year. Inflation rates have risen again this August, due to sharp increases in gasoline prices.
According to Census income distribution measurement the Gini Index, income inequality in the U.S. increased between 2021 and 2022.
The survey gathered information from households based on social, economic, housing and demographic characteristics. The Census said it plans to release additional ACS statistics in the coming months, including a 5-year estimate encompassing data from 2018 to 2022.
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