Median US income rises to highest on record even as Americans feel affordability pinch
By Tami Luhby, CNN
(CNN) — Americans’ median household income rose 2.6% or $87,460, in 2025, the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to Census Bureau data released on Tuesday.
This is the highest household income, which is adjusted for inflation, since the agency started measuring it in 1967.
Meanwhile, the poverty rate dipped by half a percentage point to 10.2%, and the uninsured rate stayed essentially the same at 7.9%. The poverty rate for children fell a percentage point to 13.4%, the lowest on record.
However, median earnings for full-time year-round workers did not change significantly in 2025, although women saw an increase in earnings of 3.2%.
The annual Census report, an important measure of Americans’ economic well-being, is notable because Trump has repeatedly claimed that the country is doing far better under his leadership than under his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
“This has been the most successful two years financially and every other way in the history of the presidency,” Trump said at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday.
Despite the increase in income, many Americans are feeling financially squeezed as prices for groceries, utilities, housing costs and other essentials remain stubbornly high. Both Republicans and Democrats have acknowledged that America is suffering from an affordability crisis.
Median income barely rose during the Biden administration, which had to contend with the aftermath of the economic upheaval wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic and a period of soaring inflation. Median household income did not return to its inflation-adjusted pre-pandemic peak until 2023 and remained essentially flat during Biden’s last year in office.
Notably, the Census’ median income figure does not include capital gains from stocks, which typically benefit higher-earning Americans. Those who have the means to invest have seen their wealth accumulate in recent years. The S&P 500 rose 16.39% in 2025, its third consecutive year of double-digit gains.
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