By Amanda Noss
Issued September 2013
This report presents data on median household income at the national and state levels based on the 2011 and 2012 American Community Survey (ACS). Estimates from the 2011 ACS and the 2012 ACS show no significant change in median household income at the national level and for most states.1 National- and state-level income trend data back to the 2000 ACS are also discussed, along with 2012 ACS metropolitan area income estimates.2 The ACS provides detailed estimates of demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics for states, congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every year. A description of the ACS is provided in the text box “What Is the American Community Survey?”
In the 2012 ACS, information on income was collected between January and December 2012 and people were asked about income for the previous 12 months (the income reference period). This yielded a total income time span covering 23 months (January 2011 to November 2012). Therefore, adjacent ACS years have income reference months in common and comparisons of 2012 economic conditions with those in 2011 will not be precise.3
1The medians from this report were calculated from the microdata and household distributions using 2012 dollars. Published estimates inflation adjusted by the CPI-U-RS will not match exactly to the estimates in this report.
2The text of this report discusses data for the United States, including the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, collected with the Puerto Rico Community Survey, are shown in Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4.
3For a discussion of this and related issues, see Hogan, Howard, “Measuring Population Change Using the American Community Survey,” Applied Demography in the 21st Century, Steven H. Murdock and David A. Swanson, Springer Netherlands, 2008.
Household income: Includes income of the householder and all other people 15 years and older in the household, whether or not they are related to the householder.
Median: The point that divides the household income distribution into halves, one-half with income above the median and the other with income below the median. The median is based on the income distribution of all households, including those with no income.
Real median household income in the United States showed no statistically significant change between the 2011 ACS and the 2012 ACS (see Table 1).4 The ACS 2011 U.S. median household income was $51,324 and the ACS 2012 U.S. median household income was $51,371. This is the first time since the 2007 ACS that median household income did not decrease. From 2006 to 2007 there was a significant increase in U.S. median household income of 1.9 percent (see Figure 4).
State estimates from the 2012 ACS ranged from $71,122 in Maryland to $37,095 in Mississippi (see Figure 1). Median household income was lower than the U.S. median in 27 states and higher in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Pennsylvania ($51,230), Wisconsin ($51,059), and Iowa ($50,957) had median household
4All income data in this report are inflation-adjusted to 2012 dollars. “Real” refers to income after adjusting for inflation.
income not statistically different from the U.S. median.5 For 44 states and the District of Columbia, real median household income in the 2012 ACS was not statistically different from that in the 2011 ACS. Between the 2011 ACS and the 2012 ACS, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Oregon were the only states that showed an increase in real median household income (see Figure 2). Between the 2010 ACS and the 2011 ACS, Vermont was the only state with
5Median household incomes for Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Iowa are not statistically different from each other.
a significant increase.6 No state had an increase between the 2009 ACS and the 2010 ACS. Looking back to the 2008 and 2009 ACS, North Dakota was the only state to experience an increase in median household income (5.1 percent). Five states (Kansas, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, and Texas) had increases between the 2007 ACS and the 2008 ACS, and between the 2006 ACS and the 2007 ACS, 33 states had increases in median household income. Real median household income decreased between the 2011 ACS and 2012 ACS in Missouri (1.6
6Estimates discussed and not shown in Figures 1–4 and Tables 1 and 2 can be found using the American FactFinder tool at www.census.gov.
percent) and Virginia (2.2 percent).7 Comparatively, between the 2010 ACS and 2011 ACS, 18 state medians decreased. Between the 2009 ACS and the 2010 ACS, 35 states showed decreases in median household income. Between the 2008 ACS and the 2009 ACS, 34 states experienced decreases, and between the 2007 ACS and the 2008 ACS, 5 states had decreases.
Looking at ACS data back to 2000, four states and the District of Columbia showed real median household income that was
7The percent change in median household incomes for Missouri and Virginia are not statistically different from each other.
Table 1.
(In 2012 inflation-adjusted dollars. Data are limited to the household population and exclude the population living in institutions, college dormitories, and other group quarters. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, non-sampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/)
| Area | 2000 ACS median household income (dollars) | 2011 ACS median household income (dollars) | 2012 ACS median household income (dollars) | Change in median income (2000-2012) | Change in median income (2011-2012) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Margin of Error (±)1 | Estimate | Margin of Error (±)1 | Estimate | Margin of Error (±)1 | Percent | Percent | |||
| Estimate | Margin of Error (±)1 | Estimate | Margin of Error (±)1 | |||||||
| United States . . . | 55,030 | 259 | 51,324 | 75 | 51,371 | 53 | *-6.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Alabama . . . . . . . | 44,482 | 1,212 | 42,116 | 576 | 41,574 | 477 | *-6.5 | 2.8 | -1.3 | 1.8 |
| Alaska . . . . . . . . . | 70,709 | 2,156 | 69,519 | 1,701 | 67,712 | 1,894 | *-4.2 | 4.0 | -2.6 | 3.6 |
| Arizona. . . . . . . . . | 51,376 | 1,662 | 47,493 | 610 | 47,826 | 604 | *-6.9 | 3.23 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
| Arkansas . . . . . . . | 43,991 | 1,448 | 39,469 | 666 | 40,112 | 497 | *-8.8 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| California . . . . . . . | 62,088 | 724 | 58,509 | 343 | 58,328 | 354 | *-6.1 | 1.2 | -0.3 | 0.8 |
| Colorado . . . . . . . | 61,743 | 4,027 | 56,443 | 661 | 56,765 | 594 | *-8.1 | 6.1 | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| Connecticut. . . . . . | 71,931 | 1,659 | 67,223 | 979 | 67,276 | 865 | *-6.5 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1.9 |
| Deleware . . . . . . . . | 63,572 | 1,832 | 60,216 | 1,398 | 58,415 | 1,593 | *-8.1 | 3.6 | -3.0 | 3.5 |
| District of Columbia . | 53,995 | 1,515 | 64,486 | 1,928 | 66,583 | 2,040 | *23.3 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 4.4 |
| Florida . . . . . . . . . | 50,709 | 871 | 45,169 | 367 | 45,040 | 345 | *-11.2 | 1.7 | -0.3 | 1.1 |
| Georgia . . . . . . . . | 54,676 | 1,022 | 46,731 | 440 | 47,209 | 378 | *-13.7 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
N Not Available.
*Statistically different from zero at the 90 percent confidence level.
1Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure of an estimate's variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. This number when added to and subtracted from the estimate forms the 90 percent confidence interval
Note: Puerto Rico data was not collected in the Census 2000 Supplemental Survey.
Sources: U.S. CEnsus Bureau, 2000, 2011, and 2012 American Community Surveys, 2011 and 2012 Puerto Rico Community Surveys.