Household Income Rises in December 2014

Good news: Median household income climbed to $54,417 in December 2014, according to Sentier Research—$738 more than the November median, after adjusting for inflation. The statistically significant increase was due in part to the decline in consumer prices as the cost of gasoline fell. The December 2014 median was 3.3 percent higher than the December 2013 median and 5.7 percent above the $51,459 median 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. Sentier's median household income estimates are derived from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey. 

Median household income in December 2014 was 1.5 percent below the median of June 2009, the end of the Great Recession. It was 3.2 percent below the median of December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. It was 4.4 percent below the median of January 2000. The Household Income Index for December 2014 stood at 95.6 (January 2000 = 100.0).

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: December 2014