Personal income in the United States

Personal income is a measure utilized by the United States government, particularly the Department of Commerce, to determine the income of individuals. It is most often only applied to those who are either above the age of 15, 18, or 25 and are considered to be members of the labor force. The personal income figures of individuals in the United States are dependent on age, sex, race and educational characteristics. In 2005 roughly half of all those with graduate degrees were among the nation's top 15% of income earners. Among different demographics (sex, marital status, race, gender) for those over the age of 18, median personal income ranged from $3,317 for an unemployed, married Asian American female^[2] to $55,935 for a full-time, year-round employed Asian American male.^[3] According to the US Census Bureau, men tended to have higher income than women while Asians and Whites earned more than African Americans and Hispanics. The overall median personal income for all individuals over the age of 18 was $25,149^[4] ($32,140 for those age 25 or above) in the year 2005.^[5] The overall median income for all 155 million persons over the age of 15 who worked with earnings in 2005 was $28,567.^[6]

Income at a glance

Median income levels

Households

Persons, age 25 or older with earnings

Household income by race

All households

Dual earner
households

Per household
member

Males

Females

Both sexes

Asian

White,
non-hispanic

Hispanic

Black

$46,326

$67,348

$23,535

$39,403

$26,507

$32,140

$57,518

$48,977

$34,241

$30,134

Median personal income by educational attainment

Measure

Some High School

High school graduate

Some college

Associate degree

Bachelor's degree or higher

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Professional degree

Doctorate degree

Persons, age 25+ w/ earnings

$20,321

$26,505

$31,054

$35,009

$49,303

$43,143

$52,390

$82,473

$70,853

Male, age 25+ w/ earnings

$24,192

$32,085

$39,150

$42,382

$60,493

$52,265

$67,123

$100,000

$78,324

Female, age 25+ w/ earnings

$15,073

$21,117

$25,185

$29,510

$40,483

$36,532

$45,730

$66,055

$54,666

Persons, age 25+, employed full-time

$25,039

$31,539

$37,135

$40,588

$56,078

$50,944

$61,273

$100,000

$79,401

Household

$22,718

$36,835

$45,854

$51,970

$73,446

$68,728

$78,541

$100,000

$96,830

Household income distribution

Bottom 10%

Bottom 20%

Bottom 25%

Middle 33%

Middle 20%

Top 25%

Top 20%

Top 5%

Top 1.5%

Top 1%

$0 to $10,500

$0 to $18,500

$0 to $22,500

$30,000 to $62,500

$35,000 to $55,000

$77,500 and up

$92,000 and up

$167,000 and up

$250,000 and up

$350,000 and up

SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2006; income statistics for the year 2005

Income distribution

Income distribution among all those above age 25 and those between 25 and 64 with earnings.^[7]^[8] NOTE: 25+ statistics must be incorrect since they do not sum to ~100%

Of those individuals who were older than 25 years of age, over 42% had incomes below $25,000 while the top 10% had incomes exceeding $75,000 a year. The distribution of income among individuals differs substantially from household incomes as 42% of all households had two income earners. As a result 15.8% of households have six figure incomes, even though only 5.63% of Americans had incomes exceeding $100,000. The following chart shows the income distribution among all 191,884,000 individuals aged 25 or higher as recorded by the United States Census Bureau. All numbers are given in 1000s.^[7]

Income range

Number of individuals (in thousands)

Percent

Cumulative percentages

Under $2,500

8,635

4.50

less than $25k
42.72%

less than $50k
70.95%

less than $100k
94.37%

$2,500 to $4,999

4,696

2.45

$5,000 to $7,499

9,038

4.71

$7,500 to $9,999

8,929

4.65

$10,000 to $12,499

10,334

5.38

$12,500 to $14,999

8,347

4.35

$15,000 to $17,499

9,365

4.88

$17,500 to $19,999

7,129

3.71

$20,000 to $22,499

9,275

4.83

$22,500 to $24,999

6,255

3.26

$25,000 to $50,000

$25,000 to $27,499

8,245

4.30

$25k-$50k
28.23%

$27,500 to $29,999

4,809

2.50

$30,000 to $32,499

8,884

4.63

$32,500 to $34,999

4,035

2.10

$35,000 to $37,499

7,133

3.72

$37,500 to $39,999

3,795

1.98

$40,000 to $42,499

6,977

3.64

$42,500 to $44,999

2,921

1.52

$45,000 to $47,499

4,572

2.38

$47,500 to $49,999

2,801

1.46

$50,000 to $75,000

$50,000 to $52,499

5,435

2.83

$50k-$75k
12.28%

$50k-$100k
16.94%

$52,500 to $54,999

1,952

1.01

$55,000 to $57,499

2,999

1.56

$57,500 to $59,999

1,500

0.78

$60,000 to $62,499

3,690

1.92

$62,500 to $64,999

1,368

0.71

$65,000 to $67,499

2,270

1.18

$67,500 to $69,999

1,168

0.61

$70,000 to $72,499

2,311

1.20

$72,500 to $74,999

928

0.48

$75,000 to $100,000

$75,000 to $77,499

1,871

0.97

$75k-$100k
4.66%

$77,500 to $79,999

769

0.40

$80,000 to $82,499

1,653

0.86

$82,500 to $84,999

590

0.31

$85,000 to $87,499

1,022

0.53

$87,500 to $89,999

506

0.26

$90,000 to $92,499

1,042

0.54

$92,500 to $94,999

447

0.24

$95,000 to $97,499

679

0.35

$97,500 to $99,999

377

0.20

$100,000 or more

10,813

5.63

Over time - by Race & Sex

This chart is median income of 15 year olds or older, who have non-zero income. Taken from World Almanac (in turn sourced to US Census Bureau)

Race

Personal income varied significantly with an individual's racial characteristics with racial discrepancies having remained largely stagnant since 1996. Overall Asian Americans enjoyed higher median personal incomes than any other racial demographic.^[10] The only exception was among the holders of graduate degrees who consititute 8.9% of the population. Among those with a Master's, Professional or Doctorate degree those who identified as White had the highest median individual income. While Asian Americans had a median income roughly ten percent higher than that of Whites, this racial income gap was relatively small.^[10]^[11] The largest racial gap was between Whites and African Americans with the former earning roughly 22% more than the latter. Thus one can observe a significant discrepancy with the median income of Asians and Whites and that of African Americans and Hispanics.^[12] Those identifying as Hispanic or Latino who may have been of any race had the lowest overall median personal income, earning 28.51% less than Whites^[13]^[11] and 35% less than Asian Americans.^[10] Overall the race gap between African Americans and Whites, which remains the largest, has remained roughly equal between both races over the past decade.^[14]^[11] Both races saw a gain in median income between 1996 and 2006, with the income growth among African Americans slightly outpacing that of Whites. In 1996 the median income for Whites was $5,957 (31%) higher for Whites than Blacks. In 2006 the gap in median incomes was nearly identical with the median income for Whites being $5,929 (22%) higher than that for African Americans. While the gap remains numerically unchanged, the percentage difference between the two races has decrease as a result of mutual increases in median personal income.^[14]^[11]

Race

Overall Median

High School

Some College

College Graduate

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Doctorate Degree

Total population

All, age 25+

32,140

26,505

31,054

49,303

43,143

52,390

70,853

Full-time workers, age 25-64

39,509

31,610

37,150

56,027

50,959

61,324

79,292

White alone

All, age 25+

33,030

27,311

31,564

49,972

43,833

52,318

85,658

Full-time workers, age 25-64

40,422

32,427

38,481

56,903

51,543

61,441

77,906

Asian alone

All, age 25+

36,152

25,285

29,982

51,481

42,466

61,452

69,653

Full-time workers, age 25-64

42,109

27,041

33,120

60,532

51,040

71,316

91,430

African American

All, age 25+

27,101

22,379

27,648

44,534

41,572

48,266

61,894

Full-time workers, age 25-64

32,021

26,230

32,392

47,758

45,505

52,858

N/A

Hispanic or Latino

All, age 25+

23,613

22,941

28,698

41,596

37,819

50,901

67,274

Full-time workers, age 25-64

27,266

26,461

33,120

46,594

41,831

53,880

N/A

See also

Income in the United States

Household income in the United States

Personal income in the United States

Affluence in the United States

Income inequality in the United States

Income by:

State (localities by state)

County (highest | lowest)

Metropolitan area

Place

Urban Areas

ZCTAs (Zip Codes)

Class

References

^ "US Census Bureau, 25+, 2005". Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
^ "US Census Bureau, females, 18 or older, unemployed, personal income, 2005". Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
^ "US Census Bureau, male, 18 or older, employed full-time year round, 2005". Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
^ "US Census Bureau, 18+ age, 2005". Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
^ "US Census Bureau, Personal income for all sexes, races in 2005". Retrieved on 2006-11-19.
^ "US Census Bureau, median income for total labor force". Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
^ ^a ^b ^c "US Census Bureau, distribution of personal income, 2006". Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
^ "US Census Bureau, income distribution, ages 25-64, 2006". Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
^ ^a ^b "US Census Bureau, Personal income, age 25+, 2006 statistics forum". Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c "US Census Bureau, Personal income for Asian Americans, age 25+, 2006". Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "US Census Bureau, Personal income for Whites, age 25+, 2006". Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
^ "US Census Bureau, Personal income for African Americans, age 25+, 2006". Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
^ "US Census Bureau, Personal income for Hispanic Americans, age 25+, 2006". Retrieved on 2006-12-17.
^ ^a ^b "US Census Bureau, Personal income by race, age 25+, 1996". Retrieved on 2006-12-17.

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Contents

Income at a glance

Income distribution

Over time - by Race & Sex

Race

See also

References

External links