Average U.S. Income: How Much Do Americans Earn?

The median U.S. household income in 2024 was $83,730, a 1.3% inflation-adjusted increase from 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. The average household income was $121,000.

The median is considerably lower than the average because a smaller number of very high earners pull the average up. The median, $83,730, is a more accurate measure of what a typical American household earns in a year.

While industry and occupation largely drive pay, it helps to know how income compares across age, gender, education, and location. Here is a data-driven breakdown using the latest Census Bureau figures.

$83,730: U.S. median household income in 2024

The Census Bureau tracks earnings, which includes wages and salary, and income, which includes wages, investment returns, government transfers, and other receipts. Most figures in this article use income.

About 7.1% of U.S. households earned less than $15,000 in 2024 while 16% earned $200,000 or more The median income was $83,730.

U.S. income by gender: How much is the gender pay gap?

Among full-time, year-round workers, men earned a median of $71,090 in 2024 and women owned $57,520, a ratio of $0.809 for every $1.00 men earned, according to the Census Bureau.

Men's full-time median earnings grew more than twice as fast as women's in 2024, 3.7% compared to 1.5%.

The persistent gender pay gap is primarily a result of two issues: women earning less than men for the same jobs and women being more likely to have lower-paying jobs than men. The latter is more common than the former.

Another contributing factor is women taking time away from careers after childbirth at higher rates than men, which affects career progression and lifetime earnings.

U.S. income by metro area

Despite a shift towards remote work in recent years, geography plays a key role in household income. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro had the highest media household income of any U.S. metro at $162,111 in 2024, while Eagle Pass, TX had the lowest among tracked metros, at $49,568, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

• The top five highest-income metros are concentrated in California, the DMV, and the Pacific Northwest. San Jose ($162,111), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont ($136,027), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC ($126,684), Lexington Park, MD ($126,256), and Boston-Cambridge-Newton ($115,863) lead the rankings.
• Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ($115,177) and Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT ($114,565) rank sixth and seventh. Both reflect high concentrations of technology and finance employment.
• The lowest-income U.S. metros are concentrated in Texas and Louisiana. Eagle Pass, TX ($49,568), Monroe, LA ($51,660), and Brownsville-Harlingen, TX ($52,601) are the three lowest-earning metros in the data, per ACS 5-Year Estimates.

High-income metros often carry high costs of living that offset earnings gains. San Jose and San Francisco consistently rank among the most expensive places to live in the country.

U.S. median income by state

Income varies widely by state. Massachusetts had a median household income of $103,960 in 2024, while Mississippi was the lowest at $56,447, a difference of more than $47,000, according to ACS 5-Year Estimates.

• The District of Columbia had the highest median household income of any U.S. jurisdiction at $109,870 in 2024, ahead of Massachusetts ($103,960) and Maryland ($103,678).
• Four of the five highest-income states are in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic. Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey ($103,556), and Connecticut ($95,781) all rank in the top 10, along with Hawaii ($100,389).
• The five lowest-income states were Mississippi ($56,447), West Virginia ($59,608), Louisiana ($60,756), Arkansas ($60,773), and Kentucky ($63,726).
  
  

U.S. median income by family size

U.S. median family income peaks at four-person families and levels off for larger households, according to Census Bureau data for 2024.

• Four-person families have the highest median income at $139,900. This is also where average family income peaks, at $178,500.
• The largest income jump occurs between two- and three-person families. Median income rises from $91,180 for two-person families to $107,500 for three-person families, a $16,320 gain, compared to smaller steps across larger family sizes.
• Median income plateaus and slightly declines above four people. Five-person families have a median of $121,600, six-person $123,600, and families of seven or more $125,600.

The drop-off above four personal households likely reflects that additional household members are often dependents or younger workers bringing in less income than the primary earners.

U.S. income by number of wage earners

The number of wage earners in a household is one of the strongest predictors of family income, though gains diminish above two earners, per Census Bureau data for 2024.

• Families with two earners have a median income of $142,200, nearly double the $71,720 median for single-earner families.
• A third earner adds roughly $21,200 more at the median. Three-earner families had a median of $163,400 in 2024. Total income diminishes because additional earners are often college-age or part-time workers.
• Families with no earners had a median household income of $50,810 in 2024, roughly 36% of the median for two-earner families.
  
  

U.S. income by age

Median household income rises with career progression, peaks in the 45-to-54 age bracket, and then falls as workers approach and enter retirement, per Census Bureau data.

• Households headed by someone aged 45 to 54 had the highest median income at $116,800 in 2024.
• The 25-to-34 age group earned a median of $90,100 in 2024, up 2.4% from 2023 in inflation-adjusted terms.
• Households aged 65 and older had a median of $56,680 in 2024, the lowest of any age group. The 15-to-24 group was close behind at $60,310.
  
  

U.S. income by race

Asian American households had the highest median income in 2024 at $121,700, while Black households had the lowest at $56,020, according to Census Bureau data.

• Asian American households earned a median of $121,700 in 2024, a 5.1% inflation-adjusted increase from 2023.
• White, non-Hispanic households had a median of $92,530 and Hispanic households $70,950 in 2024. Hispanic household income grew 5.5% in inflation-adjusted terms, and White, non-Hispanic household income grew 1.3%.
• Black households had a median income of $56,020 in 2024, a 3.3% decline from the prior year the only major racial group to see a statistically notable drop.

Income gaps by race reflect structural disparities in educational attainment, occupational distribution, and access to wealth-building opportunities that extend well beyond any single year's figures.

Income by education

Education is one of the most consistent predictors of earnings. Households headed by someone with a bachelor's degree or higher had a median family income of $161,700 in 2024, more than double the $74,740 median for households headed by a high school graduate with no college, according to Census Bureau data.

• Workers with a professional degree had the highest median family income at $225,300 among family householders in 2024. That includes J.D. and M.D. holders.
• Bachelor's degree holders had a median family income of $147,300, and those with a master's degree earned $178,100.
• High school graduates without any college had a median family income of $74,740.
  
  

How does your income stack up?

Now that you have a better sense of how much Americans earn on a national level and how those earnings break down by factors such as gender, race, age, occupation, and location, you can take a closer look at your circumstances and see if any changes are in order.

Drastic changes may not be necessary to earn more. If you're happy with your line of work and enjoy the area you live in, try learning new job skills to make yourself a more valuable employee. Doing so could result in a nice raise.

Similarly, research salary data for your industry and present it to your employer if you see that you're statistically underpaid given your position and line of work. And finally, don't hesitate to dust off your resume and see what opportunities are out there. You may find that there's a nearby company that will pay you what you're worth if your current employer won't.

And, of course, don't forget that it's not always how much money you make -- it's how you use it.

How to stretch your income

Here are a few steps you can take to passively boost your savings and make the most of your income:

1. Pay down debt: Debt can make it difficult to save or invest.
   1. Budgeting apps can help uncover ways to cut costs and focus funds on paying off debt. Review our best budgeting apps to get organized and start saving.
   2. Balance transfer credit cards can simplify paying off credit card debt. We've compiled some of the best balance transfer credit cards to help you save while paying off debt.
   3. Personal loans can be used to consolidate high-interest debt into a single, likely lower-interest, line of credit. Our experts have reviewed and ranked some of the best personal loans for debt consolidation.
   4. A mortgage refinance could potentially net thousands in savings. Check out our list of some of the best mortgage refinance lenders to see if you can save.
2. Align credit card rewards with spending: Translate recurring expenses into cash back or other rewards by finding a credit card that fits your spending. If you're thinking of applying for a credit card, our experts have compiled some of the best credit cards.
3. Open a high-yield savings account: Review the best high-yield savings accounts to find a solution that keeps your money accessible and growing.
4. Open a brokerage account to invest for the long term: If you're interested in starting your investment journey, our experts put together a list of some of the best stock brokers.