Average Income by Race in US | Statistics & Facts

Average Income by Race in America 2025

The economic landscape of the United States reveals stark disparities in income and earnings across racial and ethnic lines, reflecting deeply rooted structural inequalities that have persisted for decades. Understanding these income differences provides crucial insights into wealth accumulation patterns, economic mobility, educational access, and the lived experiences of different racial communities throughout the nation. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau demonstrates that income gaps between racial groups remain substantial, with median household incomes varying by tens of thousands of dollars depending on race and ethnicity, fundamentally shaping economic security, homeownership opportunities, retirement savings, and intergenerational wealth transfer.

The most recent comprehensive statistics reveal that Asian households maintain the highest median income at $112,800 annually, while Black households have the lowest at $56,490—a difference of more than $56,000 or nearly double the income. Non-Hispanic White households earn a median of $89,050, while Hispanic households earn $65,540, creating a complex hierarchy of economic advantage and disadvantage that intersects with historical discrimination, educational disparities, occupational segregation, and geographic concentration. These income differences translate into dramatically different standards of living, access to quality healthcare, educational opportunities for children, and ability to accumulate wealth over time, making income inequality by race one of the most pressing economic justice issues facing contemporary America.

Key Facts About Average Income by Race in US 2025

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), “Income in the United States: 2023,” Report P60-282, September 2024.

Analysis of Income Statistics by Race

The income data reveals profound racial economic stratification that has remained remarkably persistent despite decades of civil rights legislation and affirmative action policies. Asian households lead all racial groups with a median income of $112,800, which is 27% higher than non-Hispanic White households and more than double the income of Black households. This Asian economic advantage reflects multiple factors including exceptionally high educational attainment rates, with Asian Americans having the highest percentage of bachelor’s and advanced degrees among all racial groups, concentration in high-paying professional occupations such as medicine, engineering, technology, and finance, and geographic clustering in expensive metropolitan areas with higher wages such as San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and New York City. However, this aggregate figure masks substantial diversity within Asian American communities, as some subgroups like Bhutanese, Burmese, and Hmong Americans experience poverty rates comparable to or exceeding those of Black and Hispanic Americans.

Non-Hispanic White households have a median income of $89,050, positioning them second among major racial categories but representing the baseline against which other groups’ economic progress is typically measured. White household income increased by 5.7% from 2022 to 2023, the strongest growth among all racial groups, demonstrating continued economic advantage. Hispanic households earn a median of $65,540, representing 74% of White household income or a 26% income gap. This gap actually widened from 2022 to 2023, as the Hispanic-to-White income ratio declined from 0.77 to 0.74, suggesting that Hispanic families are falling further behind economically despite overall income growth. Hispanic income disparities reflect lower average educational attainment, concentration in lower-wage service and manual labor occupations, higher rates of employment in industries without benefits or job security, and the challenges facing immigrant communities including language barriers and credential recognition issues.

Black households face the most severe economic disadvantage with a median income of just $56,490, representing only 63% of White household income. The Black-White income ratio of 0.63 means Black families earn 37% less than White families, and this ratio has shown no statistically significant improvement from 2022 to 2023, indicating that racial income gaps remain stubbornly persistent. The $32,560 gap between Black and White household incomes represents nearly $2,700 per month in purchasing power difference, profoundly affecting housing options, savings capacity, healthcare access, and children’s educational opportunities. These disparities reflect the cumulative impact of historical slavery, Jim Crow segregation, redlining, discrimination in hiring and promotion, occupational segregation, wealth inheritance gaps, and ongoing systemic racism. The fact that median incomes for Black households were “not statistically different” between 2022 and 2023 while White incomes rose significantly illustrates how economic recovery and growth often bypass Black communities, perpetuating and even widening racial wealth gaps during periods of general economic expansion.

Median Household Income by Race in the US (2023)

Comprehensive Income Data Across Racial Groups

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, “Income in the United States: 2023,” Tables A-1 and A-2, September 2024.

The comprehensive racial income data demonstrates a clear hierarchical pattern with Asian households at the economic summit and Black and American Indian households at the bottom, separated by a gap of approximately $57,000 in median income. Asian households earning $112,800 annually means they bring in nearly $9,400 per month before taxes, providing substantial financial cushion for savings, investment, homeownership, and wealth building. The 3.6% increase from 2022 to 2023 demonstrates continued economic progress, though notably slower than White household growth. The Asian-to-White income ratio of 1.27 indicates Asian households earn $1.27 for every dollar earned by White households, representing a 27% income advantage.

Non-Hispanic White households at $89,050 experienced the strongest income growth at 5.7%, translating to approximately $7,420 per month. This robust growth during a period of slowing inflation allowed White families to make real economic gains, improving their purchasing power and wealth accumulation capacity. The all White category (including Hispanic Whites) shows a median of $84,630, slightly lower than non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanic households with a median income of $65,540 (approximately $5,462 monthly) experienced essentially no growth from 2022 to 2023, representing economic stagnation that effectively constitutes a loss in real terms when considering inflation. The widening gap between Hispanic and White incomes—from a ratio of 0.77 to 0.74—represents approximately $1,100 additional annual income gap, pushing Hispanic families further behind economically.

Black households earning $56,490 annually ($4,708 monthly) also saw no statistically significant income increase, meaning Black families failed to share in the economic gains experienced by White and Asian households. The persistent Black-White income ratio of 0.63 demonstrates that racial income gaps have become structural features of the American economy rather than temporary disparities that naturally correct over time. American Indian and Alaska Native households, while having limited data in this Census Bureau report, are estimated to earn around $55,000 median income based on other Census data sources, placing them alongside Black households at the bottom of the income distribution. The overall U.S. median of $80,610 represents an increase of 4.0%, but this national average obscures the reality that this growth was highly uneven, concentrated among White and Asian households while bypassing Black, Hispanic, and Native American families entirely.

Average (Mean) Household Income vs. Median by Race (2024)

Understanding Income Distribution Patterns

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, “Income in the United States: 2024,” September 2025; American Community Survey 2024.

The substantial difference between median and mean household incomes—$83,730 median versus $121,000 mean—reveals critical information about income inequality in America. The mean income being $37,270 (or 44.5%) higher than the median indicates that a relatively small number of very high-income households pull the average upward, while the median (the middle household when all are ranked by income) provides a more accurate picture of the typical American family’s economic experience. This pattern exists within all racial groups but is particularly pronounced among White and Asian households, where wealth concentration at the top is greatest.

For 2024, median household income reached $83,730, representing essentially no change from 2023 when adjusted for inflation ($82,690 in 2024 dollars), indicating that overall economic growth stalled. However, this national figure masks significant racial differences: Asian households increased median income by 5.1%, Hispanic households by 5.5%, while Black households experienced a 3.3% decrease, falling to approximately $54,640. The $70,950 median income for Hispanic households in 2024 represents a notable gain but still remains 22% below the overall national median.

The use of median rather than mean (average) is particularly important when analyzing racial income gaps because mean income is heavily influenced by the ultra-wealthy, who are disproportionately White and Asian. If we examined only mean income, racial gaps might appear smaller than they actually are for typical families. The median income tells us that half of all households earn less than this amount, making it far more representative of lived economic experiences. Within racial groups, the gap between mean and median also varies: White and Asian households have larger gaps, reflecting greater income inequality within these communities, with significant numbers of both very high earners and moderate earners. Black and Hispanic communities have smaller gaps between mean and median, indicating more compressed income distributions with fewer extremely high earners pulling the average upward, which reflects limited access to the highest-paying professions and wealth-building opportunities.

Full-Time Worker Median Earnings by Race and Gender (2023)

Intersectionality of Race and Gender in Income

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, “Income in the United States: 2023,” Table A-6 and A-7; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Data 2023.

Individual worker earnings reveal how race and gender intersect to create compounded disadvantages for women of color. Asian men lead all demographic groups with weekly earnings of approximately $1,080, translating to roughly $70,000-75,000 annually for full-time, year-round work. White men earn approximately $897 weekly or about $69,000 annually (with all men averaging $66,790 annually across races). These figures demonstrate that among men, race creates substantial earnings gaps, with Asian and White men out-earning Black and Hispanic men by $15,000-20,000 annually.

The gender pay gap exists within every racial group, but its magnitude varies. Asian women earning $841 weekly (approximately $58,000-62,000 annually) face a gender penalty of roughly 15-20% compared to Asian men, but still out-earn men of most other racial groups. White women at $734 weekly (approximately $56,000 annually, close to the all-women median of $55,240) earn about 19% less than White men, illustrating the persistent gender wage gap even within the highest-earning racial group. This means White women earn approximately 82 cents for every dollar White men earn.

Black and Hispanic workers face the double burden of racial and gender disadvantage. Black men earning approximately $707 weekly (roughly $52,000-55,000 annually) earn substantially less than White and Asian men, while Black women at approximately $641 weekly (about $46,000-49,000 annually) face both the racial penalty and gender penalty, earning roughly $20,000 less annually than White men. Hispanic men at approximately $678 weekly (about $48,000-52,000 annually) and Hispanic women at around $598 weekly (approximately $42,000-46,000 annually) occupy the bottom of the earnings distribution, with Hispanic women earning just 56% of what Asian men earn—a staggering $28,000-30,000 annual gap.

The overall female-to-male earnings ratio of 82.7% for full-time, year-round workers represents a 1.5 percentage point decline from 2022 (84.0%), marking the first statistically significant annual decrease in this ratio since 2003. This troubling reversal suggests that recent economic gains have disproportionately benefited men, widening the gender pay gap after years of gradual narrowing. These patterns demonstrate that addressing income inequality requires simultaneously tackling both racial discrimination and gender discrimination, as women of color face multiplicative rather than merely additive disadvantages in the labor market.

Historical Income Trends by Race (2019-2024)

Five-Year Analysis of Racial Income Gaps

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 2020-2025; “Income in the United States” Reports 2019-2024.

The five-year trend analysis from 2019 to 2024 reveals how different racial groups experienced the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impacts and the subsequent recovery. Pre-pandemic in 2019, racial income hierarchies were already firmly established, with Asian households at $109,460, non-Hispanic White households at $86,980, Hispanic households at $65,070, and Black households at $54,160. The Black-White income gap of $32,820 represented a substantial but not historically unusual disparity.

The 2020 pandemic year saw divergent impacts: Hispanic households experienced sharp declines to $62,960 (a $2,110 or 3.2% drop), reflecting concentration in service industries hit hardest by lockdowns, while other groups experienced modest declines or remained relatively stable. 2021-2022 brought uneven recovery, with most groups regaining or exceeding pre-pandemic income levels by 2022, though the Black-White gap temporarily narrowed to $29,330 in 2022, partly due to unusual volatility in White household income measurement.

2023 marked a significant year of divergence: White household income surged by 5.7% to $89,050, exceeding 2019 levels by $2,070, while Asian household income jumped 3.6% to $112,800, also surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, Black and Hispanic households saw essentially no income growth, causing the Black-White gap to widen back to $32,560, nearly returning to pre-pandemic levels. This pattern demonstrates that economic recoveries consistently benefit White and Asian households more than Black and Hispanic households, perpetuating racial income gaps.

2024 preliminary data shows even more concerning trends: Black household income fell 3.3% to approximately $54,640, dropping below 2019 pre-pandemic levels, indicating that Black families have experienced economic losses over the five-year period. Hispanic households finally saw strong growth of 5.5% to $70,950, their first significant gain, while Asian households continued robust growth at 5.1% to approximately $116,000. The Black-White income gap in 2024 reached approximately $36,360, the widest in this five-year period, demonstrating that far from racial income convergence, the United States is experiencing racial income divergence, with the economic distance between Black and White households expanding despite overall economic growth.

Income by Race and Education Level in the US (2023)

Educational Attainment and Income Across Racial Groups

Educational Attainment Rates by Race

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, “Income in the United States: 2023,” Table A-1; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Earnings 2023; Pew Research Center, Educational Attainment Data 2023.

Education level emerges as the single strongest predictor of income within all racial groups, but educational attainment itself varies dramatically by race, creating a reinforcing cycle of advantage and disadvantage. Households headed by someone with a bachelor’s degree or higher earn a median of $126,800, more than 3.5 times the income of households headed by someone without a high school diploma ($36,620). Full-time workers with college degrees earn $1,559 weekly compared to just $750 weekly for those without high school completion—a gap of $809 weekly or approximately $42,000 annually. This educational income premium applies across all races but is most pronounced for Asian and White workers.

The critical issue is that racial groups have vastly different educational attainment rates. Approximately 60% of Asian Americans have bachelor’s degrees or higher, the highest of any group, directly contributing to Asian households’ median income of $112,800. Non-Hispanic Whites have about 38% bachelor’s degree attainment, supporting their $89,050 median income. In contrast, only about 26% of Black Americans and 20% of Hispanic Americans have bachelor’s degrees, severely limiting access to high-income professional occupations.

High school completion rates also vary substantially: while 92% of Asians and 95% of Non-Hispanic Whites have high school diplomas, only about 75% of Hispanics do, reflecting high dropout rates driven by poverty, immigration status issues, English language challenges, and family economic pressures requiring teenagers to work rather than complete school. This educational disadvantage directly translates to Hispanic households earning just $65,540 median income.

These educational gaps reflect systemic inequalities that compound across generations: families with lower incomes have less capacity to support children through college, live in neighborhoods with underfunded schools, face food and housing insecurity that disrupts learning, and lack social networks that facilitate college access and career opportunities. Breaking this cycle requires massive investment in K-12 education in predominantly Black and Hispanic communities, expansion of college access and affordability, and addressing the wealth gaps that make college attendance financially impossible for many talented students from minority backgrounds. The education-income relationship demonstrates that simply encouraging individual educational attainment is insufficient without addressing the structural barriers that prevent equal access to quality education across racial lines.

Regional Income Variations by Race in the US (2023)

Geographic Patterns of Racial Income Disparity

States with Highest and Lowest Median Incomes

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, “Income in the United States: 2023,” Table A-1; American Community Survey 2023 State-Level Data.

Regional income patterns reveal how geography, economic structure, and racial demographics intersect to create vastly different economic realities across the United States. The West region leads with a median household income of $88,290, driven by high-wage technology industries in California, Washington, and Oregon, as well as significant Asian American populations concentrated in these states. The Northeast follows closely at $86,250, benefiting from financial services in New York, technology in Massachusetts, and pharmaceutical industries in New Jersey. The Midwest at $81,020 experienced the strongest growth at 6.6%, reflecting manufacturing recovery and tight labor markets, while the South at $73,280 remains the lowest-income region despite 3.3% growth.

These regional differences are inseparable from racial composition and historical segregation patterns. The South’s lower median income correlates directly with its large Black population (approximately 58% of Black Americans live in the South) and substantial Hispanic populations in states like Texas and Florida. Southern states including Mississippi ($49,000), Louisiana ($54,000), Alabama ($55,000), and Arkansas ($52,000) have the nation’s lowest median incomes and also the highest Black population percentages. Mississippi, where 38% of residents are Black (the highest percentage nationally), has a median income barely above $49,000—only 61% of the national median. This is no coincidence; the South’s history of slavery, Jim Crow, resistance to educational integration, and ongoing systemic racism has created entrenched poverty particularly affecting Black communities.

Conversely, states with the highest median incomes are those with smaller Black populations, larger Asian populations, or both. Maryland’s ~$94,000 median benefits from proximity to Washington D.C. federal government jobs and a highly educated workforce. Massachusetts (~$92,000) and New Jersey (~$93,000) have strong economies, excellent educational systems, and significant Asian American populations. California (~$87,000), despite enormous wealth inequality, maintains high median income due to technology industry wages and large Asian American populations in the Bay Area and Southern California.

The racial income gap exists within every state but varies in magnitude. In Northeastern and Western states with robust civil rights enforcement and diverse economies, Black-White income gaps tend to be $25,000-35,000. In Southern and Midwestern states with weaker labor protections and more racial segregation, gaps often exceed $40,000. Geographic mobility for Black and Hispanic families is constrained by discrimination in housing markets, the expense of moving, family ties, and concentration of affordable housing in lower-income regions. These patterns demonstrate that racial income inequality has a profound geographic dimension, with place of residence fundamentally shaping economic opportunity along racial lines.

Poverty Rates by Race in the US (2023-2024)

Economic Deprivation Across Racial Groups

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, “Poverty in the United States: 2023,” Report P60-283; Economic Policy Institute Analysis 2024.

Poverty rates provide a critical complementary perspective to median income data, revealing how many families fall below the threshold of economic security. The overall U.S. poverty rate of 11.1% in 2023 means approximately 37 million Americans lived below the poverty line (approximately $29,960 for a family of four in 2023). However, this national figure obscures dramatic racial disparities: American Indian and Alaska Native communities experience poverty at 20.9%—nearly twice the overall rate—meaning more than one in five Native Americans live in poverty. This represents approximately 850,000 people among a total Native American population of about 4 million.

Black Americans have a poverty rate of approximately 18-19%, meaning nearly one in five Black Americans (about 8.5 million people out of a total Black population of 47 million) live below the poverty line. This rate is 1.7 times the overall rate and more than double the White poverty rate. Hispanic Americans face a poverty rate of 15-16% (approximately 10 million people out of a total Hispanic population of 65 million), which is 1.4 times the national average. In contrast, Non-Hispanic White Americans have a poverty rate of just 8-9%, below the national average, with approximately 16 million White people in poverty out of a population of about 195 million. Asian Americans have a poverty rate of 9-10%, also below the national average, though this masks significant variation among Asian subgroups, with some communities like Hmong and Bangladeshi Americans experiencing poverty rates exceeding 20%.

These poverty disparities directly reflect the income gaps documented throughout this article. Families with median incomes below $60,000—which includes most Black and Hispanic households—live perilously close to poverty, with limited financial cushion for unexpected expenses like medical bills, car repairs, or job loss. The 20.9% poverty rate among Native Americans reflects multiple compounding factors including geographic isolation on reservations with limited employment opportunities, underfunded schools, lack of basic infrastructure like running water and internet access, health disparities including high rates of diabetes and substance abuse, and inadequate federal investment in tribal nations despite treaty obligations.

Poverty measurement itself has limitations—it’s based solely on cash income and doesn’t account for regional cost-of-living differences, meaning poverty rates in expensive states like California and New York understate economic hardship, while rates in cheaper states like Mississippi may overstate relative deprivation. Alternative measures like the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which accounts for taxes, government benefits, and geographic costs, show similar racial disparities with slight variations. The persistence of poverty rates double or triple the national average for certain racial groups represents a moral crisis and economic inefficiency, as millions of Americans—disproportionately people of color—are denied the opportunity to fully contribute their talents and labor to national prosperity.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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