Recently released Census data for 2017 show that median household income increased to $61,372 last year, up 1.8% when adjusted for inflation. While this might seem promising, it's meager progress given that the typical American's household income is roughly where it was before the last two recessions.
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Incomes Rose and Poverty Rate Fell for Third Straight Year, Census Data Show
Incomes have grown 10.4% in the past three years, and last year’s figure was the highest on record. But a change in the way the numbers are calculated over time makes comparisons imperfect, and census officials said last year’s figure wasn’t statistically different than income peaks in 1999 and 2007. The result is that the typical American household’s income is stuck where it was before the last two recessions. The 2017 growth rate also lagged behind the previous two years, when median household income—the midpoint of all households—rose 3.2% in 2016 and 5.2% in 2015.
