The U.S. Census Bureau reported that real median household income in the United States was $83,730 in 2024, a figure not statistically different from the 2023 estimate of $82,690. The official poverty rate declined by 0.4 percentage points to 10.6% in 2024. According to the bureau, these and other key indicators remained largely unchanged from the previous year.
These statistics are based on data from three reports: “Income in the United States: 2024,” “Poverty in the United States: 2024,” and “Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2024.” The Census Bureau’s official poverty measure is based on pretax money income and does not include tax credits, while its Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) accounts for taxes and government transfers as well as geographic differences in housing costs.
The SPM rate for 2024 was reported at 12.9%, also not statistically different from last year’s figure. Social Security continued to play a significant role as an antipoverty program, moving an estimated 28.7 million people out of SPM-defined poverty.
In terms of health insurance coverage, about 92% of Americans had health insurance for all or part of 2024, leaving approximately 27.1 million people—8% of the population—without coverage at any point during the year.
Private health insurance remained more common than public coverage, with rates at 66.1% and 35.5%, respectively. Employment-based insurance covered over half of the population (53.8%), followed by Medicare (19.1%) and Medicaid (17.6%). Direct-purchase coverage saw an increase between 2023 and 2024, contributing to a rise in private coverage rates overall; meanwhile, public coverage rates fell due to a decline in Medicaid enrollment.
Median post-tax household income rose by about $1,300—from $71,040 in 2023 to $72,330 in 2024—a gain of roughly 1.8%. When calculated using post-tax income instead of pretax income, inequality as measured by the Gini index was found to be lower by nearly nine percent.
Disparities persisted among demographic groups: median household incomes increased for Asian households (up by about five percent) and Hispanic households (up by over five percent), but declined for Black households (down more than three percent). Income levels did not change significantly for White or White non-Hispanic households.
Among full-time workers employed year-round, men’s median earnings increased by nearly four percent compared with no significant change for women during this period. The female-to-male earnings ratio decreased again this year—to just under eighty-one percent—marking two consecutive years of decline.
The weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four reached $32,130 in 2024; full details are available on historical thresholds at https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html.
Regional estimates and state-level data can be found within each respective report’s tables and press kit materials provided by the Census Bureau.
Data were collected through the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), which is conducted jointly with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics each spring to provide annual national estimates on these topics.
Response rates remain below pre-pandemic levels—the weighted response rate was sixty-two percent—but survey weights have been adjusted accordingly to minimize bias and ensure representativeness across populations.
