Median US income rises to highest on record even as Americans feel affordability pinch

Key Points:

• In 2025, median household income in the U.S. rose 2.6% to $87,460, the highest inflation-adjusted level since 1967, despite ongoing affordability challenges due to high prices for essentials and energy costs linked to the US-Iran conflict.
• The poverty rate decreased slightly to 10.2%, with child poverty hitting a record low of 13.4%, while the uninsured rate remained steady at 7.9%; however, median earnings for full-time workers were largely unchanged except for a 3.2% increase for women.
• Women in full-time year-round jobs earned 83.9% of men's earnings in 2025, marking the first significant annual rise in the gender earnings ratio since 2016, partly reflecting income sources beyond wages such as Social Security and pensions.
• Medicare enrollment increased to 20.1% of the population due to aging demographics, while Medicaid coverage declined to 17.1% following the expiration of pandemic-related protections, with further declines expected due to recent Republican-led cuts in safety-net programs.
• The Census Bureau data does not reflect the impact of the GOP's "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which includes major cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, prompting concerns from policy experts about rising poverty and reduced access to healthcare and food assistance in coming years.