Last Year, US Median Income Rose 4.0%... "Recovery to Pre-Pandemic Level"

Last year, the income of middle-class households in the United States recovered to the level before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

On the 10th (local time), the U.S. Census Bureau announced in its annual report that the real median household income in 2023 was $80,610 (approximately 108.38 million KRW), a 4.0% increase from $77,540 (approximately 104.25 million KRW) in 2022. The median household income refers to the income earned by the household ranked 50th when all households are arranged from highest to lowest income.

Last year’s median income is comparable to the 2019 median income of $81,210 (approximately 109.18 million KRW). American middle-class households faced difficulties as the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and inflation outpaced wage growth in 2021 and 2022. The Associated Press reported that "(last year’s median income) rebounded to pre-pandemic levels," adding that "most Americans’ purchasing power has recovered after overcoming the largest inflation surge in 40 years."

By race, last year’s real median household income increased by 5.4% to $84,630 (approximately 113.78 million KRW) for White households and by 2.8% to $56,490 (approximately 75.95 million KRW) for Black households. Hispanic ($65,540, approximately 88.11 million KRW) and Asian ($112,800, approximately 151.65 million KRW) households saw little change.

Meanwhile, the poverty rate in the U.S. last year fell by 0.4 percentage points to 11.1%, but the child poverty rate rose by 1.3 percentage points to 13.7%. The child poverty rate, which had sharply dropped to 5.2% in 2021, surged again starting in 2022. Foreign media explained this was due to the expiration of the expanded child tax credit that had been in place during the pandemic period in 2022.