The Growing Gap Between Individual and Household Income
In 1984, the average amount of income brought in by an individual was not too far removed from that of a household. That year, real median household income was $59,000 inn 2023 dollars and median individual wages were $51,000—an $8,000 difference according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.
But by 2023, the difference was almost $22,000. Household income was almost $81,000 while median individual wages had barely changed and were slightly below $60,000.
The change is likely a result of growing representation of women in the workforce. Median real wages for women have grown significantly more than that of men over the last four decades—increasing 31 percent since 1980, while men’s wages have declined by 1.7 percent.
There are also more dual income earners since the 1980s. While it declined slightly since 2000, households where both parents earned an income went from 43.6 percent of households in 1967 to between 57 and 60 percent in the 2000s.
Two Middle Classes
With more dual incomes and both parents earning more, households are earning more. But that large discrepancy between dual and single income earners means that the two groups have a distinctly different definition of middle class.
Economic metrics often go by household income, but those metrics might be off for those single income households making significantly less.