Racial and ethnic disparities in median household income have been largely persistent across time: Inflation-adjusted median household income (2020 dollars), by race and ethnicity, 1967–2020

White Black Hispanic Asian
1967  $ 50,616  $ 29,388
1968  $ 52,714  $ 31,084
1969  $ 54,801  $ 33,125
1970  $ 54,269  $ 33,031
1971  $ 53,968  $ 31,879
1972  $ 57,252  $ 32,949  $ 42,598
1973  $ 58,036  $ 33,864  $ 42,527
1974  $ 56,064  $ 33,059  $ 42,279
1975  $ 54,539  $ 32,496  $ 38,888
1976  $ 56,247  $ 32,777  $ 39,692
1977  $ 56,790  $ 32,860  $ 41,542
1978  $ 58,257  $ 34,363  $ 43,097
1979  $ 58,371  $ 33,794  $ 43,496
1980  $ 57,030  $ 32,284  $ 40,942
1981  $ 56,026  $ 30,992  $ 41,929
1982  $ 55,490  $ 30,930  $ 39,226
1983  $ 55,680  $ 30,806  $ 39,424
1984  $ 57,437  $ 32,055  $ 40,433
1985  $ 58,590  $ 34,092  $ 40,179
1986  $ 60,526  $ 34,095  $ 41,493
1987  $ 61,667  $ 34,256  $ 42,264  $ 70,439
1988  $ 62,389  $ 34,612  $ 42,949  $ 68,070
1989  $ 62,779  $ 36,550  $ 44,307  $ 72,970
1990  $ 61,533  $ 35,974  $ 43,013  $ 74,063
1991  $ 60,076  $ 34,955  $ 42,174  $ 67,744
1992  $ 60,372  $ 34,012  $ 40,980  $ 68,553
1993  $ 60,449  $ 34,552  $ 40,483  $ 67,832
1994  $ 60,864  $ 36,434  $ 40,582  $ 70,144
1995  $ 62,904  $ 37,888  $ 38,678  $ 68,718
1996  $ 63,924  $ 38,700  $ 41,047  $ 71,322
1997  $ 65,459  $ 40,411  $ 42,956  $ 72,996
1998  $ 67,548  $ 40,350  $ 45,091  $ 74,230
1999  $ 68,817  $ 43,497  $ 47,916  $ 79,419
2000  $ 68,768  $ 44,718  $ 49,995  $ 84,043
2001  $ 67,864  $ 43,191  $ 49,193  $ 78,607
2002  $ 67,669  $ 41,880  $ 47,763  $ 75,931
2003  $ 67,404  $ 41,823  $ 46,552  $ 78,581
2004  $ 67,187  $ 41,341  $ 47,078  $ 78,993
2005  $ 67,476  $ 41,001  $ 47,789  $ 81,175
2006  $ 67,467  $ 41,143  $ 48,623  $ 82,672
2007  $ 68,731  $ 42,445  $ 48,406  $ 82,726
2008  $ 66,924  $ 41,239  $ 45,692  $ 79,105
2009  $ 65,865  $ 39,407  $ 46,004  $ 79,178
2010  $ 64,794  $ 38,220  $ 44,772  $ 76,453
2011  $ 63,912  $ 37,173  $ 44,549  $ 75,120
2012  $ 64,391  $ 37,635  $ 44,055  $ 77,523
2013  $ 66,000  $ 38,911  $ 44,882  $ 77,603
2014  $ 65,948  $ 38,742  $ 46,505  $ 81,315
2015  $ 68,778  $ 40,314  $ 49,328  $ 84,310
2016  $ 70,157  $ 42,596  $ 51,425  $ 87,837
2017  $ 71,982  $ 42,040  $ 53,143  $ 85,914
2018  $ 72,820  $ 42,636  $ 53,036  $ 89,882
2019  $ 77,007  $ 46,005  $ 56,814  $ 99,400
2020  $ 74,912  $ 45,870  $ 55,321  $ 94,903

Note: All race categories are single race and do not distinguish Hispanic ethnicity from non-Hispanic ethnicity, except for white, which is exclusive of Hispanic ethnicity (i.e., non-Hispanic white alone, Black alone, and Asian alone). Hispanic can be of any race. 

Notes: All race categories are single race and do not distinguish Hispanic ethnicity from non-Hispanic ethnicity, except for white, which is exclusive of Hispanic ethnicity (i.e., non-Hispanic white alone, Black alone, and Asian alone). Hispanic can be of any race. Due to a redesign of the income questions in the Current Population Survey— Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) in 2013 and an update to the CPS ASEC processing system in 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau reported two estimates of income in each of those years. The 2013 and 2017 income values in this graph are an average of the two estimates reported in each year.

Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey, Income and Poverty in the United States 2020 data, Table A-2.

Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey–Annual Social and Economic Supplements 1968 to 2021. “Table A-2. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2020” (Excel table) from Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020, September 2021. 

View the underlying data on epi.org.