Pick a year and an everyday expense. See whether household income has kept up.
Getting the historical numbers…
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First, what are we comparing?
Compare a historical year with 2024. Drag freely; the comparison resolves to years with verified data.
HERE'S WHAT CHANGED
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How did we calculate this? +
This compares U.S. median pretax income for all households against national price measures. It does not describe the expenses or earnings of one particular family. Census rent survey methods differ between older and newer years.
Research sources
Source data reviewed October 2026. Reference year: 2024.
