Chart of the Day #1: Household Income Rises Sharply in 2015

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I’ve got good news and bad news for you today. First the good news:

Median household income was $56,516 in 2015, a 5.2 percent increase from the 2014 median in real terms….

And now, continuing directly, the bad news:

….but 1.6 percent lower than the median in 2007, the year before the most recent recession, and 2.4 percent lower than the median household income peak that occurred in 1999.

This comes from the latest Census report on income and poverty. It shows that income really is making a strong recovery as the labor market tightens. But it also shows that we still have a ways to go before we make up for the losses of the Great Recession.

Fact:

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Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

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