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Median income is the amount that divides the income distribution into two equal groups, half having income above that amount, and half having income below that amount. Mean income (average) is the amount obtained by dividing the total aggregate income of a group by the number of units in that group. Mode income is the most frequently occurring income in a given income distribution.

Median income can be calculated by household income, by personal income, or for specific demographic groups.

Gross median household income by country

See also the country lists in the household income article.

Countries by gross median household income in Int$ (PPP)

Countries by gross median per-capita income in Int$ (PPP)

In 2013, Gallup published a list of countries with median annual household income, based on a self-reported survey of approximately 2000 adults from each country.^[1] Using median, rather than mean income, results in a much more accurate picture of the typical income of the middle class since the data will not be skewed by gains and abnormalities in the extreme ends. The figures are in international dollars using purchasing power parity and are based on responses from 2006 to 2012 inflation adjusted to 2010 levels. Below is a list of the top 30 countries. The figures do not take taxes and social contributions into account.^[1][2]

Please note that the list below does not correspond to citizens of each country, but to all its residents. States rich in fossil fuels such as Qatar and Kuwait have a very large gap in terms of median annual earnings of citizens and non-citizens (reaching more than tenfold).

Rank Country/Territory Gross household income in Int$ (PPP)[1] Gross per-capita income in Int$ (PPP)[1] 1  Luxembourg 52,493 18,418 2  Norway 51,489 19,308 3  Sweden 50,514 18,632 4  Australia 46,555 15,026 5  Denmark 44,360 18,262 6  United States 43,585 15,480 7  Canada 41,280 15,181 8  South Korea 40,861 11,350 9  Kuwait 40,854 7,487 10  Netherlands 38,584 14,450 11  New Zealand 35,562 12,147 12  Hong Kong 35,443 9,705 13  Austria 34,911 12,284 14  Finland 34,615 15,725 15  Japan 33,822 10,840 16  Germany 33,333 14,098 17  Taiwan 32,762 6,882 18  Singapore 32,360 7,345 19  United Kingdom 31,617 12,399 20  France 31,112 12,445 21  Israel 30,364 7,847 22  Belgium 26,703 10,189 23  Qatar 26,555 5,117 24  Slovenia 25,969 8,656 25  Ireland 25,085 8,048 26  Saudi Arabia 24,980 4,762 27  Bahrain 24,633 4,778 28  Czech Republic 22,913 7,821 29  Spain 21,959 7,284 30  Malta 21,141 6,869

Median equivalent adult income

The annual median equivalence disposable household income for selected OECD countries is shown in the table below. This is the disposable income of an equivalent adult in a household in the middle of the income distribution in a year.

Data are in United States dollars at current prices and current purchasing power parity for private consumption for the reference year.

Rank Country Median income (US$, PPP)[3] Year 1  Luxembourg 38,516 2013 2  Norway 37,129 2017 3   Switzerland 34,608 2013 4  United States 34,514 2016 5  Australia 31,340 2014 6  Canada 29,521 2013 7  Austria 29,278 2013 8  Iceland 27,919 2013 9  Denmark 27,157 2013 10  Belgium 26,922 2013 11  Netherlands 26,820 2014 12  Sweden 26,627 2013 13  Finland 25,810 2014 14  Germany 25,140 2013 15  France 24,547 2013 16  New Zealand 23,304 2012 17  United Kingdom 22,546 2016 18  Ireland 22,200 2013 19  South Korea 22,176 2014 20  Japan 21,675 2013 21  Italy 20,860 2013 22  Spain 20,600 2015 23  Israel 17,802 2014 24  Slovenia 16,224 2013 25  Czech Republic 15,391 2013 26  Slovakia 14,171 2013 27  Portugal 14,053 2013 28  Romania 13,966 2013 29  Estonia 13,719 2013 30  Poland 13,630 2013

• An academic study on the Census income data claims that when correcting for underreporting, U.S. gross median household income was 15% higher in 2010 (table 3).^[4]
  

Median household income and the US economy

This graph shows the income since 1970 of different racial and ethnic groups in the United States (in 2014 dollars).^[5]

Since 1980, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) per capita has increased 67%,^[6] while median household income has only increased by 15%. Median household income is a politically sensitive indicator. Voters can be critical of their government if they perceive that their cost of living is rising faster than their income.

The early-2000s recession began with the bursting of the dot-com bubble and affected most advanced economies including the European Union, Japan and the United States. An economic recession will normally cause household incomes to decrease, often by as much as 10%.

The late-2000s recession began with the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, which caused a problem in the dangerously exposed sub prime-mortgage market. This in turn triggered a global financial crisis. In constant price, 2011 American median household income was 1.13% lower than what it was in 1989. This corresponds to a 0.05% annual decrease over a 22-year period.^[7] In the mean time, GDP per capita has increased by 33.8% or 1.33% annually.^[8]

A study on US Census income data claims that when using the national accounting methodology, U.S. gross median household income was $57,739 in 2010 (table 3).^[9]

In 2015, the US median household income spiked 5.2 per cent, reaching $56,000, making it the first annual hike in median household income since the start of the Great Recession.^[10]

See also

• List of countries by average wage


• List of U.S. states by income


• Mean household income


• Income distribution


• Income quintiles


• Household income in the United States


• International Ranking of Household Income


• Median


• Median household income in Australia and New Zealand


• Median income per household member


• Places in the United States with notable demographic characteristics


• Poverty in the United States

References