Household Income Stable in January 2016

Median household income in January 2016 stood at $57,288, according to Sentier Research, which was not significantly different from the December 2015 median, after adjusting for inflation. The January 2016 median was 4.0 percent higher than the January 2015 median, however, and 10.3 percent above the $51,945 median of August 2011, the low point in Sentier's household income series. 

"There has been a general upward trend in median household income since the post-recession low point reached in August 2011," reports Sentier. "Many monthly changes were not statistically significant. By the summer of 2014 however, that uneven trend became dominated by a series of significant monthly increases." According to Sentier's Gordon Green, low energy prices have contributed significantly to the rise in real median household income.  

Median household income in January 2016 was 2.9 percent higher than the median of June 2009, which marked the end of the Great Recession. It was 1.0 percent higher than the median of December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. The January 2016 median was still 0.2 percent below the median of January 2000. The Household Income Index for January 2016 was 99.8 (January 2000 = 100.0). 

Sentier's median household income estimates are derived from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey.

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: January 2016