American incomes continue to trend upward, though disparities by race and ethnicity remain, according to the latest five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
Adjusted for inflation, the nation’s median household income rose 10.5% to $75,149 when comparing estimates covering 2013-2017 and 2018-2022. Median incomes in the past 12 months for the 2018-2022 period ranged from a high of $107,637 among Asian “householders” – which the Census Bureau defines in part as a person in whose name a home is owned, being bought or being rented – to a low of $50,901 among Black householders.
By specific race or ethnicity, Hispanic or Latino householders experienced the largest percentage increase in median household income between the periods of 2013-2017 and 2018-2022 at 18.1%, landing at a median income of $64,936. They were followed by American Indians and Alaska Natives, who experienced a 17.6% rise in median household income to $55,925.
[ READ: The 10 Richest States in America ]
Asian householders saw a 13.5% increase in median household income between five-year periods, while Black householders saw a 13.1% increase. Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander householders saw a 13.2% increase to $76,568, while median household income among non-Hispanic whites rose by 9.2% to $81,423.
The latest five-year estimates – which are "period" estimates reflecting data collected over time, the Census Bureau says – show a total of 116 counties or county equivalents in the U.S. had median household incomes that were above $100,000. Of the 15 counties with the highest incomes, five are located near the nation’s capital in Virginia or Maryland. Four of the richest counties are in California – all in the San Francisco Bay Area – while New Jersey is the only other state home to more than one county on the list, at two.
These are the 15 richest counties or county equivalents in the U.S. by median household income, according to American Community Survey estimates for 2018-2022.
