Real median household income in the United States was $83,730 in 2024, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This figure is not statistically different from the 2023 estimate of $82,690. The official poverty rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 10.6% in 2024.
The information comes from three reports published by the Census Bureau: “Income in the United States: 2024,” “Poverty in the United States: 2024,” and “Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2024.” These reports use data from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), which is conducted jointly by the Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) rate for 2024 was reported at 12.9%, a figure not statistically different from last year’s results. Nearly all groups discussed in the poverty report had higher SPM rates than official poverty rates when using consistent measurement criteria.
For health insurance coverage, about 92% of people had some form of coverage during all or part of 2024, leaving an estimated 27.1 million people uninsured at any point throughout the year.
Income estimates were based on money income before taxes and did not include non-cash benefits or tax credits unless otherwise indicated. According to Appendix B of the income report, post-tax household income rose by 1.8% between 2023 and 2024, reaching $72,330.
Income inequality as measured by the Gini index did not change significantly compared to last year when using pretax income; however, it was reported to be lower—by approximately 8.7%—when calculated with post-tax income.
Among racial groups, median household income increased by over five percent for Asian and Hispanic households but declined by about three percent for Black households between 2023 and 2024. No significant change was observed for White or White non-Hispanic households.
Median earnings among full-time, year-round workers increased for men but did not show a significant change for women over this period. The female-to-male earnings ratio fell to its second consecutive annual decrease at roughly 80.9%.
The weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four reached $32,130 in 2024 (see https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html). There were about 35.9 million people living below this threshold nationwide.
Social Security remained a key factor affecting poverty statistics; it moved nearly 28.7 million individuals out of SPM-defined poverty during the year.
In terms of health insurance types, private insurance covered around two-thirds (66%) of Americans while public plans covered just over one-third (36%). Employment-based coverage remained most common at nearly half of all insured persons, followed by Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Private insurance coverage rates increased slightly overall between years due mainly to more people purchasing plans directly rather than through employment or government programs; meanwhile public coverage saw a slight decline primarily because fewer people were enrolled in Medicaid compared with last year.
Children under age nineteen experienced higher private coverage rates than before but also saw declines in public program participation compared to previous figures.
Data collection challenges remain due to lower survey response rates following pandemic-related disruptions; adjustments are made within CPS ASEC methodology to help address potential biases resulting from these lower response levels.
More details on sampling methods and accuracy can be found at https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar25.pdf.
