Median U.S. Income Rises 2% to $81,604—but 21 States See No Increase Despite Rising Costs

Incomes got a modest bump nationally last year, although residents of 21 states saw no significant increase in their earnings despite facing rising costs, new U.S. Census Bureau data shows.

Median household income in the U.S. rose to $81,604 in 2024, a 2% increase from the prior year after adjusting for inflation, according to the new American Community Survey data released by the bureau on Thursday.

Real, or inflation-adjusted, household income increased annually in 29 states, with Alaska (+7.3%), Mississippi (+6%), and New Mexico (+5.8%) seeing the biggest bumps.

However, 21 states saw no statistically significant change in real income, including Illinois, Wisconsin, and Connecticut.

"It's good to see rising incomes in a majority of states, but the pace at which these incomes are rising is not enough to equate to sufficient growth in buying power to make homeownership more affordable, which is why we see the homeownership rate stagnating," says Realtor.com® senior economist Joel Berner.

The Census Bureau data released on Thursday showed that median monthly costs for homeowners with a mortgage increased 3.8% last year nationwide after adjusting for inflation. The nominal increase, with no inflation adjustment, was 6.8%.

The main driver of the increase in homeownership costs last year was rising mortgage costs and higher insurance premiums, according to Census Bureau economists.

"As notable as it is that 29 states saw increases to incomes, it's maybe more notable that 21 did not, while homeownership costs grow across the country," says Berner.

Among the states, those with the highest median household incomes were Massachusetts ($104,828), New Jersey ($104,294), and Maryland ($102,905).

The District of Columbia’s median household income of $109,707 would be the highest in the nation if the federal district were a state.

Mississippi ($59,127), West Virginia ($60,798), Louisiana ($60,986), and Arkansas ($62,106) had the lowest median household income among the 50 states.

Notably, the median income reported for every state was lower than the minimum amount needed to buy the typical home in that state, according to a recent Realtor.com analysis.

Income in Iowa came the closest to meeting the needs of a homebuyer, with the median income of $75,501 just shy of the $75,999 income needed to buy the typical home there.

Boomers see the biggest income bump

The 65 and older age group, a cohort that includes the vast majority of baby boomers, saw the largest percentage bump in their income, which rose 3.4% to $59,648 from the prior year.

Householders aged 45 to 64, mostly overlapping with Gen X, had the highest median household income last year at $100,055, a 2.7% increase from 2023.

Millennial householders aged 25 to 44 typically earned $92,084, up 2% from a year earlier.

Gen Z householders under the age of 25 had the lowest median household income ($46,651), statistically unchanged from the prior year.

Among all racial and ethnic groups, Asian households had the highest median income ($117,289) in 2024.

White households had a median household income of $87,572, and Hispanic households had a median
household income of $72,574 in 2024.

Black households had the lowest median income ($56,706). All racial groups experienced increases in median income from 2023 to 2024.

The Census Bureau defines a household as the income of the householder and all other people 15 years and older in the household, whether or not they are related. Income includes wages, salary, commissions, tips, investment income, and welfare or pension payments.