Household Income Rises in August 2015

Good news: Median household income in August 2015 reached a post-Great Recession high. August's median stood at $55,794, according to Sentier Research—1.1 percent higher than in July 2015, after adjusting for inflation. The August 2015 median was 5.0 percent higher than the August 2014 median and 7.6 percent above the $51,835 median of August 2011, the low point in Sentier's household income series. 

"The 1.1 percent increase in median household income between July and August 2015 is one of the largest month-to-month increases in income during the post-recessionary period," says Sentier's Gordon Green. We have now recaptured all of the income losses that have occurred since June 2009, when the Great Recession ended." Sentier's median household income estimates are derived from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey. 

Median household income in August 2015 was not significantly different (finally!) from the median of June 2009, the end of the Great Recession. It was still 1.5 percent below the median of December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. It was 2.7 percent below the median of January 2000. The Household Income Index for August 2015 was 97.3 (January 2000 = 100.0).

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: August 2015