Household Income Stable in November 2015

Median household income in November 2015 stood at $56,746, according to Sentier Research—not significantly different from the October median, after adjusting for inflation. The November 2015 median was 4.8 percent higher than the November 2014 median and 9.4 percent above the $51,875 median of August 2011, the low point in Sentier's household income series. 

"Even though median annual household income did not increase significantly in November 2015, we continue to see an upward trend in income that has been evident since the low point in August 2011," says Sentier's Gordon Green. "We have now recaptured all of the income losses that have occurred since the beginning of the last recession in December 2007." Sentier's median household income estimates are derived from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey. 

Median household income in November 2015 was 1.9 percent higher than the median of June 2009, the end of the Great Recession. It has now surpassed (by $32) the median of December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. It was still 1.1 percent below the median of January 2000. The Household Income Index for November 2015 was 98.9 (January 2000 = 100.0).

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: November 2015