Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of economic performance in America during the early stages of the millennium is summed up in one key metric – median household income.
Measured in twenty fourteen dollars, median household income hit an all-time high in nineteen ninety nine at nearly fifty eight thousand dollars. As reported by Bloomberg, two years ago, it stood at well below fifty four thousand dollars having fallen by more than seven percent from its all-time high.
Median household income appears to have recovered meaningfully in twenty fifteen, but remains below its nineteen ninety nine level. In short, the typical American household has a lower standard of living than it did sixteen years ago. The situation in certain states is much worse.
In both Mississippi and Michigan, real median household income has declined by more than twenty percent. Other states that have suffered large declines in median household income include Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Nevada, Delaware and both Carolinas.
Though North Dakota’s economy is struggling now, it recorded the most median household income growth between nineteen ninety nine and twenty fourteen. Census data indicate that Maryland is the nation’s most affluent state.