Median Income of Upper-income Households Has Increased the Most Since 1970 3-person household
Incomes of all households are higher today than they were in 1970. Upper-income households saw the most growth, as their median income increased 43% from 1970 to 2013. Middle-income households gained 32% over the same period, and the median income of lower-income households increased 28%. (All incomes are adjusted for household size.)
However, the overall gains mask a lengthy period – a lost decade, and then some – of losses from 2000 to 2013. During this time, the median incomes of lower-, middle- and upper-income households have fallen by 9%, 6% and 6%, respectively. Currently, the incomes of these households are comparable to what they were in 1997.
Median Income of Upper-income Households Has  | Increased the Most Since 1970  | Median adjusted household income in 2013 dollars scaled to a  | 3-person household  | $200 thousand  | $17 7,807  | $166, .623  | UPPER INCOME  | 150  | $116,673  | 100  | $75,560  | MIDDLE INCOME  | $53 .786  | $71,014  | 50  | $26 062  | $18, .490  | LOWER INCOME  | $23, 659  | '70  | 10 '13  | 80  | '90  | 00  | Source: Pew Research Center Supplements tabulations of the Current Population Survey,  | Annual Social and Economic Center Supplements  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 