Household incomes have fallen since 2019

“On Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau released 2021 household income and household earnings data for states from the American Community Survey (ACS). National averages hide the wide disparities experienced by workers and families across states while state-level data can help us understand how policy choices impact income and earnings.

According to the ACS, inflation-adjusted median household income in 2021 was $69,717 nationally with large differences across states. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had median household incomes above the national average with the highest being Maryland ($90,203), The District of Columbia ($90,088), and Massachusetts ($89,645).

Thirty-one states had median household incomes below the national median with the lowest being in Mississippi ($48,716), West Virginia ($51,248), and Louisiana ($52,087).

The 2021 national median income has increased 1 tenth of 1% compared with the pre-pandemic inflation-adjusted 2019 median income. Twenty states experienced greater growth in their median household incomes than the 1 tenth of 1% national growth rate. Most were still relatively small. Six states had 2019 to 2021 median household income growth rates of 3% or more: Vermont, New Hampshire, Arizona, South Dakota, Montana, and Maine. 

Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia had household incomes in 2021 that were lower than their inflation-adjusted 2019 incomes. The District of Columbia had the largest decline overall while the largest declines for states were in Wyoming, Delaware, and Louisiana. The decline in real median household incomes is especially concerning in states where household earnings are already especially low.”