U.S. median income rose in 2023 for the first time since 2019, Census report says

The nation's real median household income levels increased between 2022 and 2023, the first rise since 2019, according to new data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The growth brings the national median income to 2019 levels, Liana Fox, the Census Bureau's assistant chief for economic characteristics, social, economic and housing statistics division, said in an online news conference. That's the highest since 1967, according to a census report. 

But while the national data shows improving economic indicators, several Long Island observers say the metrics obscure the financial pressures facing many families in a high-cost region like Long Island. And one local economist said the rosy overall picture shows unequal gains based on race, ethnicity and gender, with the income rise largely confined to white males.

"This is a promising ripple of economic hope for our country, but we still confront real challenges of affordability, particularly here on Long Island, where the cost of living and doing business is the existential issue facing our region," said Matt Cohen, president and chief executive of the Long Island Association, the region's largest business group.

Real median household income increased 4% to $80,610 in 2023, up from $77,540 the year before. The median household income in 2019 was $80,210, not statistically different from the 2023 median, the bureau said in a report. 

The bureau also found that an estimated 8%, or 26.4 million people, of the U.S. population did not have health insurance at any point last year, not statistically different from 2022.

Meanwhile, the official poverty rate for the nation declined 0.4 percentage points between 2022 and 2023 to 11.1%, the first statistically significant change since 2020, the bureau said. The supplemental poverty rate, however, was higher in 2023, at 12.9%, a 0.5 percentage point increase over 2022. That takes into account resources not factored in by the official poverty rate, such as noncash benefits, minus taxes and work expenses, medical expenses and child support paid to another household.

The official poverty measure includes only gross pretax cash income. The official poverty threshold for a family of two adults and two children in 2023 was $30,900.

The Census Bureau said there were 36.8 million people in poverty last year. The official poverty rate for women fell 0.5 percentage points, to 11.9% in 2023, but it was higher than the rate for men, which was 10.2%, the bureau said. And people under age 18 had a higher poverty rate, at 15.3% in 2023, than those 18-64 (10%) and those 65 and older (9.7%).

Richard Koubek, chair of the Welfare to Work Commission of the Suffolk County Legislature, wrote in an email that despite improving economic conditions nationally, many Americans, including Long islanders, feel "economically insecure."

"To find out why so many Americans are struggling, just look at Suffolk. It's wonderful that U.S. Real Median Household income rose by 4% to $80,610. But in Suffolk, the Welfare to Work Commission's research, along with other studies, found that a family of four with young children needs to earn about $100,000 just to make ends meet here," Koubek wrote.

He added that "because of our high cost of living, the federal definition of $30,900 should be doubled" for Long Island. The official poverty measures do not take into account regional cost differences.

Koubek continued, "Housing costs are a major reason Long Islanders will not feel or celebrate the excellent aggregate income and earnings data coming out of Washington." 

John Rizzo, an economist and a Stony Brook University professor, said he found the census data "disappointing news."

The bureau reported that non-Hispanic white households experienced a median income increase between 2022 and 2023, while the medians for other races and ethnicities "were not statistically significant from 2022." However, Asian households had the highest median income at $112,800 in 2023, followed by non-Hispanic whites at $89,050 and Hispanics at $65,540. Black households had the lowest median income at $56,490.

Rizzo, in an email, said: "With a generally improving economy and strong labor market, I am not surprised to see increases in real (i.e., inflation-adjusted) household income and earnings. But, these gains appear to have been confined to white households and males. Minority households — including Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians — saw no significant increase in median household incomes between 2022 and 2023." 

Rizzo also noted women working full time lost ground in earnings, relative to men. The bureau reported the female-to-male earnings ratio at 82.7%, a 1.5% decrease from the 2022 ratio, the first decline since 2003. Women's median earnings in 2023 was $55,240, compared with $66,790 for men in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars.

"So, my overall impression of the change in household incomes and earnings from 2022 to 2023 is that, while the overall average effects were favorable, these gains were largely confined to white males, with minorities and females falling behind," Rizzo said.

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie