Note: Revisions were made to estimates in Table A4 (page 38) for the 30th and 70th percentiles. Other minor differences are due to updates in the programming of this table.
Introduction
Download Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019 [PDF - 2.9 MB]
This report presents data on income, earnings, income inequality, and poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2020 and earlier Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements (CPS ASEC) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Highlights
Income:
- Median household income was $68,703 in 2019, an increase of 6.8 percent from the 2018 median of $64,324 (Figure 1 and Table A-1).
- The 2019 real median incomes of family households and nonfamily households increased 7.3 percent and 6.2 percent from their respective 2018 estimates (Figure 1 and Table A-1). This is the fifth consecutive annual increase in median household income for family households, and the second consecutive increase for nonfamily households.
- The 2019 real median incomes of White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic households all increased from their 2018 medians (Figure 1 and Table A-1).
- Real median household incomes increased for all regions in 2019; 6.8 percent in the Northeast, 4.8 percent in the Midwest, 6.1 percent in the South, and 7.0 percent in the West (Figure 1 and Table A-1).
Earnings:
- Between 2018 and 2019, the real median earnings of all workers and full-time, year-round workers increased 1.4 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively (Figure 4 and Table A-6).
- The 2019 real median earnings of men ($57,456) and women ($47,299) who worked full-time, year-round increased by 2.1 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively (Figure 4 and Table A-6). The 2019 female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.823, not statistically different from the 2018 ratio (Figure 5).
- Between 2018 and 2019, the total number of people with earnings, regardless of work experience, increased by about 2.2 million. The number of full-time, year-round workers increased by approximately 1.2 million.
Poverty:
- The official poverty rate in 2019 was 10.5 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from 11.8 percent in 2018. This is the fifth consecutive annual decline in poverty. Since 2014, the poverty rate has fallen 4.3 percentage points, from 14.8 percent to 10.5 percent (Figure 7 and Table B-5).
- The 2019 poverty rate of 10.5 percent is the lowest rate observed since estimates were initially published in 1959 (Figure 7 and Table B-5).
- In 2019, there were 34.0 million people in poverty, approximately 4.2 million fewer people than 2018 (Figure 7 and Table B-1).
- For all demographic groups shown in Figure 8 and Table B-1, poverty rates in 2019 were either lower than or not statistically different from those in 2018.
- Between 2018 and 2019, poverty rates declined for all race and Hispanic origin groups shown in Figure 8 and Table B-1. The poverty rate for Whites decreased 1.0 percentage point to 9.1 percent. The poverty rate for Blacks decreased by 2.0 percentage points to 18.8 percent. The poverty rate for Hispanics decreased by 1.8 percentage points to 15.7 percent. The poverty rate for Asians decreased 2.8 percentage points to 7.3 percent (Figure 8 and Tables B-1 and B-5).
- Between 2018 and 2019, poverty rates for people under the age of 18 decreased 1.8 percentage points, from 16.2 percent to 14.4 percent. Poverty rates decreased 1.2 percentage points for people aged 18 to 64, from 10.7 percent to 9.4 percent. The poverty rate for people aged 65 and older decreased by 0.9 percentage points, from 9.7 percent to 8.9 percent (Figure 8 and Table B-1).
Tables
Income:
Table A-1. Income Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2018 and 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table A-2. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table C-1. Historical Median Income Using Alternative Price Indices: 1967 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Income Inequality:
Table A-3. Income Distribution Measures Using Money Income and Equivalence-Adjusted Income: 2018 and 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table A-4. Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table A-5. Selected Measures of Equivalence-Adjusted Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2019 [<1.0MB]
Earnings:
Table A-6. Earnings Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2018 and 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table A-7. Number and Real Median Earnings of Total Workers and Full-Time, Year-Round Workers by Sex and Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio: 1960 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Poverty:
Poverty Thresholds: 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table B-1. People in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 2018 and 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table B-2. Families and People in Poverty by Type of Family: 2018 and 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table B-3. People With Income Below Specified Ratios of Their Poverty Thresholds by Selected Characteristics: 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table B-4. Income Deficit or Surplus of Families and Unrelated Individuals by Poverty Status: 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table B-5. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table B-6. Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Table B-7. Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: 1959 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Number and Percent of Shared Households, and Number and Percent of Adults aged 18 and older, in Shared Households: 2018 and 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Impact on Poverty of Alternative Resource Measures by Age: 1981 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Percentage of People in Poverty by State Using 2- and 3-Year Averages: 2016-2017 and 2018-2019 [<1.0 MB]
Interrelationships of 3-Year Average State Poverty Rates: 2017 - 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Figures
Income:
Figure 1. Median Household Income and Percent Change by Selected Characteristics [<1.0 MB]
Figure 2. Real Median Household Income by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1967 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Figure C1. Historical Median Income Using Alternative Price Indices: 1967 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Income Inequality:
Figure 3. Income Distribution Measures and Percent Change Using Money Income and Equivalence-Adjusted Income [<1.0 MB]
Earnings:
Figure 4. Median Earnings and Percent Change by Selected Characteristics [<1.0 MB]
Figure 5. Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio and Median Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers 15 Years and Older by Sex: 1960 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Figure 6. Total and Full-Time, Year-Round Workers With Earnings by Sex: 1967 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Poverty:
Figure 7. Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Figure 8. Poverty Rate and Percentage Point Change by Selected Characteristics: People [<1.0 MB]
Figure 9. Poverty Rate and Percentage Point Change by Type of Family: Families and People [<1.0 MB]
Figure 10. Poverty Rates by Age and Sex: 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Figure 11. Poverty Rates by Age 1959 to 2019 [<1.0 MB]
Figure 12. Demographic Makeup of the Population at Varying Degrees of Poverty : 2019 [<1.0 MB]
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