Summary: The Sentier Research monthly median household income data series is now available for November. The nominal median household income was up $167 month-over-month and $1,669 year-over-year. Adjusted for inflation, it was up $305 MoM (not statistically significant) and up only $1000 YoY. The real numbers equate to a 0.57% MoM increase and a 1.89% YoY increase.
In real dollar terms, the median annual income is 6.3% lower ($3,651) than its interim high in January 2008 but off its low in August 2011.
Background on Sentier Research
The traditional source of household income data is the Census Bureau, which publishes annual household income data in mid-September for the previous year.
Sentier Research, an organization that focuses on income and demographics, offers a more up-to-date glimpse of household incomes by accessing the Census Bureau data and publishing monthly updates. Sentier Research has now released its most recent update, data through November (available here). The numbers in their report differ from the Census Bureau's in three key respects:
Monthly Median Household Income Since 2000
The first chart below is an overlay of the nominal values and real monthly values chained in November 2014 dollars. The red line illustrates the history of nominal median household, and the blue line shows the real (inflation-adjusted value). I've added callouts to show specific nominal and real monthly values for January 2000 start date and the peak and post-peak troughs.
