American Household Income Smashes Record as Poverty Hits Historic Low [WATCH]

Fresh US Census data delivered welcome economic news: American household income reached a record in 2025, while the nation’s poverty rate dropped to its lowest level ever.

The two milestones placed rising household resources and falling poverty in the same annual snapshot.

Real median household income rose 2.6% to $87,460, marking the highest inflation adjusted level since Census records began in 1967. The figure also surpassed the previous peak, which was reached in 2019.

The increase was not limited to income before taxes. Median post tax household income climbed 3.1% to $76,060, providing another measure of the gains recorded during the year.

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Those results arrived despite a turbulent stream of economic headlines in the United States and abroad.

The developments covered issues ranging from tariffs to international conflicts, but the Census figures still showed household income moving higher.

Daniel Shoag, an economist and professor at Harvard University, described the wage figures as evidence of continued progress.

“It represents continued economic growth,” Shoag said.

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Shoag also pointed to the fading influence of the pandemic period on recent income patterns.

“We would expect income to keep going up. We saw a spike during the pandemic and then some drops after that … and we’re starting to see those COVID effects going away,” he told The Post on Wednesday.

The income record was accompanied by another major development.

The poverty rate declined by half a percentage point in 2025, falling to 10.2% for its second consecutive annual decrease.

The Census data showed that 34.5 million people were living in poverty in the United States during 2025.

Even with that substantial number, the national rate stood at its lowest level ever.

Children also recorded a historic improvement under the Census measure.

Their poverty rate dropped to an all time low of 13.4%, adding another notable figure to the report’s positive results.

The Census Bureau also tracks a supplemental poverty line that includes noncash government benefits and taxes.

That supplemental measure was reported at 13.1%.

For its poverty calculation, the agency classified a family consisting of two adults and two children as living in poverty when its annual income was below $32,649.

That threshold provided the benchmark used for that household type.

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Medical expenses remained a significant factor under the supplemental measure.

According to the Census Bureau, medical costs pushed 7.7 million more people below the supplemental poverty line in 2025.

Health insurance coverage was relatively stable compared with the previous year.

Most people in the United States had insurance during either some or all of 2025, according to the Census data.

About 7.9% of the population remained uninsured during the year.

That represented 26.7 million people, though the uninsured rate was still near historic lows.

The report also showed different earnings trends for women and men.

Women’s paychecks increased 3.2% during 2025, while men’s paychecks dipped slightly, narrowing the wage gap by a small amount.

Women still earned roughly 84 cents for every dollar earned by men.

The difference remained even after women recorded the stronger paycheck growth during the year.

Most of the overall earnings increase was concentrated among Americans at the top of the income distribution.

Income for the top 10% of earners rose 1.7%, while income for the bottom 10% remained relatively flat.

The gap between those groups was also visible in their household income figures.

Households at the 90th percentile reported income of about $261,300, while households at the 10th percentile earned $20,010.

Taken together, the Census numbers showed record median household income, higher post tax income and historically low poverty.

They also showed that earnings gains were not distributed evenly, with most of the increase occurring among top earners.

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