Real median household income in the United States reached a record $87,460 in 2025, marking the highest level recorded since comparable data began in 1967, while the nation’s official poverty rate declined to 10.2%, according to new data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.The Census Bureau said median household income increased 2.6% from $85,210 in 2024 to $87,460 in 2025. The figures were released as part of the bureau’s annual reports on income, poverty and health insurance coverage based on data collected through the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.The latest figures present a mixed but generally positive picture of household economic conditions in the United States. While household incomes reached a historic high and the official poverty rate declined, millions of Americans remained without health insurance for the entire year, while the broader Supplemental Poverty Measure remained substantially higher than the official poverty rate.
The official poverty rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 10.2% in 2025, with approximately 34.5 million people living below the official poverty threshold. The poverty rate for children also declined, reaching a historic low of 13.4%.For a family of four, the weighted average official poverty threshold was $32,970 in 2025, according to the Census Bureau.However, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which takes into account taxes, government assistance, work expenses, medical expenses and geographic differences in housing costs, stood at 13.1% in 2025 and was not statistically different from 2024.The Census Bureau noted that Social Security remained the largest antipoverty program measured under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, moving 28.8 million people out of SPM poverty during 2025.
The report found that household income increased among several racial and ethnic groups, although the differences were not statistically significant across the groups when comparing the year-to-year changes.Median income increased by 3.0% for White households, 2.9% for non-Hispanic White households and 4.8% for Black households. The Census Bureau said median household income did not change significantly for Asian or Hispanic households between 2024 and 2025.Income inequality, as measured by the Gini index, also was not significantly different between 2024 and 2025, according to the report.
The economic picture was also reflected in post-tax household income. Median post-tax income increased 3.1%, rising from $73,760 in 2024 to $76,060 in 2025.The Census Bureau said inequality measured using post-tax income was 8.7% lower than when calculated using pretax income.Among full-time, year-round workers, median earnings for women increased by 3.2%, while median earnings for men did not change significantly. The female-to-male earnings ratio rose to 83.9% in 2025 from 80.6% in 2024.
Despite the improvement in household income and poverty, the Census Bureau reported that 26.7 million people, or 7.9% of the U.S. population, were uninsured for the entire year in 2025. That figure was not statistically different from 2024.Employment-based insurance remained the most common form of coverage, covering 53.5% of the population for some or all of the year. Medicare covered 20.1%, Medicaid 17.1% and direct-purchase coverage 10.5%.Public health insurance covered 35.8% of the population in 2025, a share that was not statistically different from the previous year. Medicare coverage increased by 0.6 percentage points, while Medicaid coverage declined by 0.5 percentage points.
The Census Bureau also highlighted an important limitation in interpreting the latest figures. The weighted response rate for the 2026 CPS ASEC was 61.3%, down from 62.0% the previous year and still below pre-pandemic levels.The bureau said declining response rates can increase the risk of bias and noted that statistical adjustments are used to reduce potential nonresponse bias and maintain the representativeness of the estimates.Overall, the new Census Bureau report shows an American economy in which median household income reached its highest recorded level, official poverty declined and child poverty reached a historic low, even as millions of Americans continue to face economic hardship and gaps in health insurance coverage.
The findings provide a broad snapshot of American economic well-being in 2025, while also underscoring that record household income at the national level does not mean that every household experienced the same improvement.Files, images, and data analysis are unavailable until usage resets at 10:44 AM. Continue chatting with text only, or upgrade for more access.