Income basics
You will see two very different numbers quoted for "typical" income. Here is what each one means, why they differ, and which one to trust.
U.S. median household income
$80,734
The household in the exact middle
U.S. average household income
$113,530
Total income divided by households
Gap
41%
Average is higher than median
The median is the middle value: line up every household by income, and the one in the middle is the median. Half earn more, half earn less.
The average, or mean, adds up all household income and divides by the number of households. A small number of very high earners pulls that number up, so the average lands well above what a typical household earns.
For "what does a normal household earn," use the median. It is not pulled up by a handful of very high incomes, which is why the Census Bureau and most researchers use it as the headline figure. Every income figure on Wealth by Zip is a median unless it says otherwise.
The bigger the gap, the more a state's high earners pull the average away from the typical household. States are sorted by that gap.
| State | Median | Average | Average above median |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $85,974 | $128,247 | 49% |
| Washington, D.C. | $109,870 | $162,297 | 48% |
| Connecticut | $95,781 | $138,744 | 45% |
| Louisiana | $60,756 | $87,038 | 43% |
| California | $99,122 | $140,436 | 42% |
| Florida | $74,568 | $105,967 | 42% |
| Mississippi | $56,447 | $78,922 | 40% |
| North Carolina | $72,388 | $101,208 | 40% |
| Texas | $78,476 | $109,933 | 40% |
| Alabama | $63,999 | $88,898 | 39% |
| Arkansas | $60,773 | $84,759 | 39% |
| Illinois | $83,390 | $115,638 | 39% |
| Massachusetts | $103,960 | $144,950 | 39% |
| Tennessee | $69,595 | $96,820 | 39% |
| Georgia | $77,353 | $106,944 | 38% |
| Kentucky | $63,726 | $87,807 | 38% |
| New Jersey | $103,556 | $143,363 | 38% |
| New Mexico | $64,059 | $88,155 | 38% |
| Pennsylvania | $77,971 | $107,538 | 38% |
| South Carolina | $69,324 | $95,567 | 38% |
| Virginia | $93,170 | $128,260 | 38% |
| Oklahoma | $65,039 | $88,936 | 37% |
| Washington | $98,141 | $134,588 | 37% |
| Missouri | $70,702 | $96,247 | 36% |
| Montana | $72,509 | $98,908 | 36% |
| Nevada | $78,260 | $106,475 | 36% |
| Ohio | $71,389 | $96,990 | 36% |
| West Virginia | $59,608 | $81,190 | 36% |
| Arizona | $79,964 | $108,273 | 35% |
| Kansas | $74,275 | $100,417 | 35% |
| Michigan | $72,875 | $98,700 | 35% |
| Colorado | $95,470 | $128,255 | 34% |
| Maine | $74,733 | $100,102 | 34% |
| Nebraska | $76,475 | $102,399 | 34% |
| Oregon | $83,011 | $111,542 | 34% |
| Delaware | $84,954 | $112,616 | 33% |
| Minnesota | $89,062 | $118,304 | 33% |
| North Dakota | $76,657 | $101,793 | 33% |
| Vermont | $81,203 | $107,852 | 33% |
| Idaho | $77,800 | $102,747 | 32% |
| Indiana | $71,957 | $95,247 | 32% |
| Maryland | $103,678 | $136,642 | 32% |
| Wyoming | $76,176 | $100,641 | 32% |
| Hawaii | $100,389 | $131,053 | 31% |
| Iowa | $75,059 | $98,187 | 31% |
| Rhode Island | $87,796 | $115,075 | 31% |
| South Dakota | $75,081 | $98,527 | 31% |
| Wisconsin | $77,485 | $101,466 | 31% |
| New Hampshire | $99,031 | $128,322 | 30% |
| Alaska | $92,788 | $118,985 | 28% |
| Utah | $95,166 | $121,376 | 28% |
Average is aggregate household income (table B19025) divided by total households (table B19001). Median is from table B19013.
Look up any zip code
See the median household income and income spread for any U.S. zip code in seconds.
Look up a zip code