3 ms·
> It is a fact that incomes have not risen for decades Is this a fact? I just checked the data from the US Census Bureau [1]. Here is what I see (all numbers
by boole1854 4y ago
> It is a fact that incomes have not risen for decades
Is this a fact?
I just checked the data from the US Census Bureau [1]. Here is what I see (all numbers inflation-adjusted to 2021 equivalent [2]).
Note: I chose 1994 as the comparison year since that was as far back as the Census data I looked at goes.
1994 median individual income: $44,618
2021 median individual income: $60,008
1994 mean individual income: $58,005
2021 mean individual income: $83,039
[1] Source: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-pinc/pinc-01.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-p... . I used the 'Worked Full-Time, Year-Round' data since that was available for both 1994 and 2021.
[2] Using the PCE inflation index, which includes energy and food prices: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCEPI https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCEPI -- I used January 1994 and January 2021 as the reference points.
- seydor 4y agohttps://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us...
- boole1854 4y agoI have spot checked the data cited there to compare with the Census data... The 'median' earnings data they cite comes from the BLS 'usual weekly earnings' release. One can check that release on the bls.gov website. It is labeled "Series Id: LES1252881500". I compared Q1 1994 to Q1 2021, inflation adjusted using the PCE index: 1994: $750 2021: $983 That is an increase of 31.1%. The Census data which I cited previously is annual earnings, not weekly, but it seems relatively consistent with the BLS data, as the Census data showed a growth rate of 34.4%. In short, both sets of data show relatively consistent income growth over that period.