Economy
America got richer. The median income didn’t keep up.
Real economic output per person rose much faster than the median person’s inflation-adjusted money income over the last 50 years.
Since 1974, real GDP per capita rose about 142% while real median personal income rose 57% — output per person grew roughly 2.5× as fast as the typical person’s income.
Key findings
- Real GDP per capita grew about 142% between 1974 and 2024 (index 100 → 242).
- Real median personal income grew 57% over the same period (index 100 → 157).
- Output per person grew roughly 2.5× as fast as the typical person’s income — a widening gap.
Explore the data
Coverage: Jan 1, 1974 – Dec 31, 2024 · United States
Sources
Primary source
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
via FRED
Real GDP per capita (A939RX0Q048SBEA)
Accessed Aug 14, 2026
Chained 2017 dollars, quarterly SAAR; annual points = mean of four quarters.
U.S. Census Bureau (CPS ASEC)
via FRED
Real Median Personal Income (MEPAINUSA672N)
Accessed Aug 14, 2026
Annual, in 2024 C-CPI-U dollars.
Methodology
Two series are independently re-indexed to 1974 = 100 and plotted for every year, 1974–2024. Real GDP per capita is in chained 2017 dollars (quarterly SAAR; annual points are the mean of four quarters). Real median personal income is annual, in 2024 C-CPI-U dollars. All 51 annual observations are shown.
What this does not show
The chart does not say that Americans became poorer — real median personal income still rose 57%. It shows that real GDP per capita rose about 2.5× as much. GDP per capita is output per resident; Census personal income is pretax money income for the middle person. They are different measures.
Creator
Reuse this visualization
Attribution
Graphic by Chartive Editorial, using data from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
License: CC BY 4.0
Embed code
<figure style="margin:0;max-width:1909px">
<a href="https://chartive.org/visualizations/america-got-richer-median-income-didnt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
<img src="https://chartive.org/infographics/america-got-richer-1974-2024.jpeg" alt="Line chart, 1974–2024, of U.S. real GDP per capita (ending at index 242) rising far above real median personal income (ending at index 157), both indexed to 1974 = 100." width="1909" height="2506" style="max-width:100%;height:auto" />
</a>
<figcaption style="font:14px/1.4 system-ui,sans-serif;color:#57534e;margin-top:8px">
Graphic by Chartive Editorial, using data from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — via <a href="https://chartive.org/visualizations/america-got-richer-median-income-didnt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chartive</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>Reuse is welcome — the embed keeps a link back to the source.
