Household Income Stable in October 2014

Median household income in October stood at $53,713, according to Sentier Research. Although this was $320 less than the September 2014 median of $54,033, the difference was not statistically significant, after adjusting for inflation. The October 2014 median was 1.0 percent higher than in October 2013, however, and 3.7 percent more than the $51,784 of August 2011—the low point in Sentier's household income series. 

"Our time series charts clearly illustrate that although the economic recovery officially began in June 2009, the recovery in household income did not begin to emerge until after August 2011," explains Sentier's Gordon Green. "While many of the month-to-month changes in median income since the low-point in August 2011 have not been statistically significant, an overall upward trend is still clearly evident," he states. Sentier's median household income estimates are derived from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey.   

Median household income in October 2014 was 3.4 percent below the median of June 2009, the end of the Great Recession. It was 5.1 percent below the median of December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. It was 6.2 percent below the median of January 2000. The Household Income Index for October 2014 stood at 93.8 (January 2000 = 100.0).

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: October 2014