Real median US household income — one of the best government datapoints on how a typical American household is faring — rose 4% in 2023, to a record high $80,610, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday. It was the biggest yearly jump in inflation-adjusted incomes since 2019 for the country’s more than 130 million households.
Don’t expect parades. The bulk of the increase came from the sharp slowdown in inflation — which tumbled from around 8% in 2022 to about 4% in 2023 — rather than a sharp increase in incomes. Affordability issues stemming from the the cumulative 20% rise in the Consumer Price Index since the end of 2020 have kept consumers’ views on the economy pretty sour.