U.S. incomes rose and the poverty rate fell last year, according to the Census Bureau’s annual report on economic well-being. The authoritative survey showed continuing progress since the 2007-09 recession. By some measures, however, Americans haven’t returned to levels of prosperity achieved nearly two decades ago.
The income of the median household rose by 3.2% to $59,039, moving the inflation-adjusted figure to the highest level on record. Incomes, which were battered during the recession, are now up for two consecutive years and have surpassed the previous high reached in 1999.
While the median income rose at a healthy clip, gains were not evenly distributed. Households at the 90th percentile saw incomes climb 3.8%, while those at the 10th percentile saw incomes rise only 1.3%. The top 20% of households account for 51.5% of all income, up slightly from 51.1% a year earlier.
The female-to-male earnings measure was 80.5%, meaning women made about 81 cents for every dollar a man earned. That figure, which doesn’t account for hours worked, occupational choices or the types of benefits workers prefer, improved by 0.9 percentage point from the prior year, the first such annual increase since 2007.
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