Median Household Income Stable in October 2016

Median household income in October 2016 stood at $57,929. according to Sentier Research, not significantly different from the September 2016 median, after adjusting for inflation. The October 2016 median was 0.6 percent higher than the October 2015 median and 9.8 percent above the $52,764 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 October 2016 was 2.4 percent higher than the median of June 2009, which marked the end of the Great Recession. It was slightly higher than the median of December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. The October 2016 median was still 0.6 percent below the median of January 2000. The Household Income Index for October was 99.4 (January 2000 = 100.0).

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: October 2016