U.S. household incomes rose last year to an all-time high and the poverty rate fell to one of the lowest levels on record.
The median household's inflation-adjusted income increased 2.6% last year to $87,460, according to the Census Bureau's annual report on income, poverty and health insurance coverage. That was the highest in data back to 1967.
Despite contending with persistent inflation throughout 2025, increased wealth from stock market gains and low unemployment during the first year of President Donald Trump's second term helped bolster household incomes.
Still, affordability became a
The report showed females now earned about 84% as much as their male counterparts, up from around 81%. This marks the biggest yearly increase in the female-to-male earnings ratio in data back to the early 1960s.
Additionally, all races experienced income growth. While the $59,980 median income for Black workers remains the lowest, they saw the largest percentage increase among all races. Hispanic households had the smallest gain.
The Census Bureau said the official U.S. poverty rate — the share of people whose pre-tax income falls below a specified threshold — fell 0.5 percentage point to 10.2%. The rates for children and Hispanic individuals declined to historic lows.
A supplemental poverty measure which accounts for government benefits like refundable tax credits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments and housing subsidies was little changed at 13.1%. Social Security benefits lifted 28.8 million out of poverty, while refundable tax credits helped 6.1 million. On the other hand, medical expenses pushed 7.7 million people into poverty.
Meanwhile, the share of people with health coverage in 2025 was 92.1%, about in line with 2024. Medicare coverage increased 0.6 percentage point to 20.1%.
