The U.S. Census Bureau asked around - how much money is everyone REALLY making?

Answer: $74,580

Questions:

• Why do you think the income of “family households” is so much higher than “nonfamily households”?
• Which variable shown has the biggest impact on income?
• What other factors might impact how much someone earns (besides the ones in the chart)?
• This data shows pre-tax income. Imagine you earn $75,000 and pay an effective income tax rate of 15%. What is your take-home pay after taxes are taken out?

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Census Bureau):

"Real median household income was $74,580 in 2022, a 2.3 percent decline from the 2021 estimate of $76,330"

"Based on the money income Gini index, income inequality decreased by 1.2 percent between 2021 and 2022 (from 0.494 to 0.488); this represents the first time the Gini index has shown an annual decrease since 2007. A decrease in the Gini index indicates that the distribution of income is becoming more equal. This decrease reverses the 1.2 percent increase in the Gini index between 2020 and 2021."

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.