Household Income Stable in April 2013

Median household income was stable in April 2013, according to the latest monthly update from Sentier Research. The April median of $51,456 was not statistically different from the March median. According to Sentier's Gordon Green, this stability is largely due to a 0.4 percent decline in consumer prices between March and April 2013. 

Median household income in April 2013 was 5.0 percent lower than the median in June 2009, the end of the Great Recession. It was 6.7 percent lower than the median in December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. It was 7.8 percent lower than the median in January 2000. "Even though we are technically in an economic recovery," says Green, "the most recent experience suggests that real median annual household income is still having difficulty gaining any solid traction."

The Household Income Index for April 2013 was 92.2 (January 2000 = 100.0). The index compares median annual household income in a given month as a percent of its value in January 2000, after adjusting for inflation. An Excel spreadsheet of the entire household income time series is available from Sentier's web site for $25.00.

Source: Sentier Research, Trends in Household Income: April 2013