The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. The median can be calculated for household income, personal income or disposable income.

Measure The median income differs from the national average salary or GDP per capita due to the income distribution. The median income is an economic indicator of the standard of living for the median person in a country. Median income growth correlates with consumer confidence. In line with the median voter theorem the median income growth is a democratic indicator of economic growth.

The measurement of income from individuals and households, which is necessary to produce statistics such as the median, can pose challenges and can yield results inconsistent with aggregate national accounts data. For example, an academic study on the Census income data claims that when correcting for underreporting, U.S. median gross household income was 15% higher in 2010.

Median equivalised household disposable income

Disposable income is market income (income from work and capital) after accounting for public cash transfers received and direct taxes and social security contributions paid. It excludes in-kind services provided to households by governments and private entities, consumption taxes, and imputed income flows due to home ownership..

The median equivalised household disposable income is the median household disposable income equivalised by dividing by the square root of household size; the square root is used to acknowledge that people sharing accommodation benefit from pooling at least some of their living costs. The median equivalised disposable income for individual countries corrected for purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2021 in United States dollars is shown in the below table.

+ Median equivalised household disposable income Location 2021 (USD PPP) 49,748 46,625 41,621 39,698 39,388 37,715 37,110 36,853 36,835 35,891 35,537 34,061 33,472 32,158 31,882 31,392 30,727 30,622 28,698 27,949 26,884 26,630 26,075 24,264 23,802 21,366 21,282 20,856 19,908 19,680 19,147 16,774 16,410 15,898 15,361 14,990 10,341 10,101 8,915 6,090 6,068

Median Daily Disposable Income per person

The following table shows the daily median per person income after taxes and transfers according to the Poverty and Inequality Platform of the World Bank.

Country Daily median income in USD (2021 PPP) Annualgrowth (%) Year 9.79 5.7 2018 59.90 2020 71.44 -1.7 2023 62.89 3.0 2023 16.85 2.7 2023 15.74 6.1 2023 30.18 9.4 2023 64.72 -2.2 2022 24.57 2024 11.28 5.5 2023 23.18 10.6 2025 36.73 16.2 2023 52.14 5.8 2023 39.07 -1.0 2023 60.72 -0.5 2023 17.48 11.5 2024 12.09 -2.6 2024 11.88 5.6 2023 36.52 -0.9 2023 56.48 -0.1 2023 57.21 0.3 2023 64.18 -1.3 2022 28.91 3.7 2023 8.73 2023 8.35 11.0 2024 22.14 6.5 2017 60.63 -0.2 2019 50.49 0.8 2023 37.48 6.2 2021 48.79 -2.3 2023 42.24 5.1 2020 10.45 18.8 2022 32.95 4.2 2023 37.60 2.1 2023 89.49 2.3 2023 29.55 2021 53.52 -1.0 2022 12.49 2022 17.78 10.8 2021 69.09 1.5 2021 15.52 8.7 2019 77.76 2.5 2023 18.58 3.8 2024 14.92 4.1 2024 10.67 4.1 2024 7.21 2023 38.84 1.6 2023 33.68 4.6 2023 73.36 2017 29.85 7.5 2023 33.62 9.4 2023 19.18 3.4 2022 21.00 2018 24.46 -1.0 2023 49.24 1.8 2023 54.40 5.2 2021 47.30 2.1 2023 55.60 -0.7 2023 72.29 -1.1 2022 46.23 -0.9 2021 19.94 4.0 2022 76.52 2018 54.65 1.2 2021 72.07 3.2 2024 26.84 3.7 2024 13.78 9.8 2024

See also List of U.S. states and territories by income Disposable household and per capita income List of countries by average wage List of countries by wealth per adult Middle class

References