Median Household Income Stable in September 2016

Median household income in September 2016 stood at $57,616, according to Sentier Research—not significantly different from the August 2016 median, after adjusting for inflation. The September 2016 median was 0.8 percent higher than the September 2015 median and 9.6 percent above the $52,576 median of August 2011, which was the low point in Sentier's household income series. 

"Median annual household income in 2016 has not been able to maintain the momentum that it achieved during 2015," says Sentier's Gordon Green. Despite the flattening, however, Sentier notes that "there has been a general upward trend in median household income since the post-recession low point reached in August 2011." Sentier's median household income estimates are derived from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey.

Median household income in September 2016 was 2.2 percent higher than the median of June 2009, which marked the end of the Great Recession. It was not significantly different from the median of December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. The September 2016 median was 0.8 percent below the median of January 2000. The Household Income Index for September was 99.2 (January 2000 = 100.0).

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: September 2016