CENSUS: Asian American household income continues to grow

Median household income for Asian Americans grew more than any other ethnic group, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday (Sept. 26).

Asian American households also continued to have the highest median income of $87,243.

Before anyone trumpets "model minority," the Census data masks the wide disparity that exists between the ethnic groups that fall under the overly broad Asian American category. While Indian Americans have a household income over $100,000, several Southeast Asian groups fall way below the US median income.

Overall, the median household income for the United States and 14 states increased significantly in 2018 from the previous year.

Median household income for the nation has been increasing every year since 2013, but the year-to-year increase from 2017 to 2018 is smaller than the prior three years when President Obama's economic reforms had rescued the country from a recession. Previously, increases ranged between 1.8% and 3.3% annually.

In 2018, household incomes are just now getting back to 2001 real income levels, which means the middle class is falling behind the “investor class” given the real estate market in most major cities and the stock market are near record highs.

The 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) shows that median household income rose between 2017 and 2018 for 10 of the 25 most populous metropolitan areas. However, the Gini index of income inequality was significantly higher during the same period for the nation and nine states.

Median household income between 2017 and 2018 increased for all households across all major race and Hispanic origin groups.

Median household income ranged from $87,243 for Asian households (up 2.1%) to $41,511 for black households (up 1.5%).

Median household income for households with non-Hispanic white householders increased by 1.0% to $67,937 in 2018. Households with Hispanic householders increased by 1.5% to $51,404 in 2018.

The year-to-year percent changes between the groups were not significantly different from one another.

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