Household Income Stable in February 2016

Median household income in February 2016 stood at $57,129, according to Sentier Research, which was not significantly different from the January 2016 median, after adjusting for inflation. The February 2016 median was 3.7 percent higher than the February 2015 median, however, and 10.2 percent above the $51,857 median of August 2011, which was the low point in Sentier's household income series. 

"We continue to see an upward trend in income that has been evident since the low point in August 2011," reports Sentier's Gordon Green. "Relatively low energy prices have contributed significantly to increases in real median household income." Sentier's median household income estimates are derived from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey.
  
Median household income in February 2016 was 2.8 percent higher than the median of June 2009, which marked the end of the Great Recession. It was 0.9 percent higher than the median of December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. The February 2016 median was still 0.3 percent below the median of January 2000. The Household Income Index for February 2016 was 99.7 (January 2000 = 100.0).

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: February 2016