U.S. Median Household Income Reaches Record $87,460 in 2025
In 2025, U.S. median household income reached a record high of $87,460, according to the Census Bureau's latest report on income and poverty levels. This marks an increase from the previous year’s estimate of $85,210, with real median income rising by 2.6%. Despite this growth, gains were unevenly distributed across different income groups. Households at the higher end of the income distribution saw a measurable rise in earnings—specifically, those at the 90th percentile experienced an increase of 1.7%—while households at the lower end (the 10th percentile) did not see statistically significant changes. The Gini index, which measures overall income inequality, remained largely unchanged from 2024. The report also highlighted progress for women in terms of earnings: median full-time wages rose by 3.2% compared to men’s stagnant gains. Meanwhile, the official poverty rate fell slightly to 10.2%, with approximately 34.5 million people living below the poverty line.
