Introduction
Median household income in the United States was $42,148 in the year 2000. This value equaled the value for 1999, the highest level ever recorded in the Current Population Survey (CPS), in real terms,1 Hispanic/2 and Black households hit new all-time highs in median income of $33,447 and $30,439, respectively. The median household income of White non-Hispanic ($45,904) and Asian and Pacific Islander ($55,521) households equaled their highest levels ever recorded (in 1999) in the CPS (see Table A).
The estimates in this report are based on the March 2001 Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Respondents provide answers to the best of their ability, but as with all surveys, the estimates may differ from the actual values. For further information about the source and accuracy of the estimates, go to www.census.gov/hhes/www/income00/sa.html.
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1 All income values are in 2000 dollars. Changes in real income refer to comparisons after adjusting for inflation. The percentage changes in prices between earlier years and 2000 were computed by dividing the annual average Consumer Price Index for 2000 by the annual average for earlier years. This is the first CPS report to use the research series of the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U-RS) as the deflator in making historical comparisons involving income data. The CPI-U values for 1947 to 2000 are available on the Internet at: www.census.gov/hhes/www/income00.html; click on “Annual Average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U-RS): 1947 to 2000.” Information on the development of the CPI-U-RS is available on the Internet at: www.bls.gov/cpirsdc.htm.
2 Hispanics may be of any race. About 10.4 percent of White households, 2.5 percent of Black households, 1.8 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander households, and 10.3 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native households are maintained by a person of Hispanic origin.
