Median Household Income by City & Neighborhood

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated September 25, 2026.

Enter a city or zip code to see median household income for any city, zip code, or neighborhood in the US:

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Median Household Income in the US

The median US household earns $80,734 a year, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) 2020–2024 5-year estimates. That figure is the midpoint. Half of all households earn more, and half earn less.

Among the 91 US cities with at least 250,000 residents, the median runs from $39,938 in Detroit, MI to $146,427 in San Jose, CA. A typical household in San Jose, CA earns more than three times as much as one in Detroit, MI.

Big cities earn a little less than the country as a whole. Only 38 of the 91 cities top the national median, and the middle city on the list sits at $77,371. The national figure also counts the suburbs, where many higher-earning households live.

Highest and Lowest Median Household Income by City

These lists rank the 91 US cities with at least 250,000 residents. Each link opens that city’s household income page, which maps income neighborhood by neighborhood.

10 highest-income big cities

  1. San Jose, CA: $146,427
  2. San Francisco, CA: $140,970
  3. Irvine, CA: $136,719
  4. Seattle, WA: $123,860
  5. Gilbert, AZ: $122,551
  6. Plano, TX: $112,253
  7. Washington, DC: $109,870
  8. Chandler, AZ: $108,095
  9. San Diego, CA: $108,077
  10. Chula Vista, CA: $108,032

10 lowest-income big cities

  1. Detroit, MI: $39,938
  2. Cleveland, OH: $40,801
  3. Toledo, OH: $49,724
  4. Buffalo, NY: $50,041
  5. Memphis, TN: $51,736
  6. Newark, NJ: $52,060
  7. Cincinnati, OH: $52,909
  8. Milwaukee, WI: $54,234
  9. St. Louis, MO: $56,160
  10. New Orleans, LA: $56,631

California holds five of the 10 highest-income spots. Four of the top 10 are suburban cities that have grown past 250,000 residents: Irvine, Gilbert, Plano, and Chandler. The lowest-income list is mostly older industrial cities in the Midwest and Northeast. Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo, and Buffalo have the four lowest medians of any big city.

The 20 largest cities

New York, Los Angeles, and Phoenix sit within 2% of the national median. San Jose, San Francisco, and Seattle lead the 20 largest cities by a wide margin. Philadelphia and Houston have the lowest medians of the 20.

Median household income in the 20 most populous US cities, with the national median in gray. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B19013.

What Median Household Income Measures

A household is everyone who lives in one home, whether or not they are related. Household income adds up the income of every member age 15 and older. It counts wages, self-employment income, Social Security, pensions, public assistance, interest, dividends, and rent received. The Census Bureau measures it before taxes.

The median is the middle household when all households are lined up by income. It describes a typical household better than the average does, because a small number of high incomes pull the average up.

Household income differs from per capita income. Per capita income divides all income by every resident, children included. A city with many large families can have a solid household income and a modest per capita income. Each household income page on this site shows both figures.

Buying power depends on local prices as well as income. A $100,000 income stretches much further in Oklahoma City than in San Jose. The cost of living index compares local prices, and the home prices and rent prices pages set housing costs against local incomes.

Where These Numbers Come From

Every figure on this page comes directly from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B19013. It is the most recent release available as of September 2026. BestNeighborhood updates this page when the Census Bureau publishes each new release.

The survey reaches about 3.5 million addresses a year. A 5-year estimate pools the answers from 2020 through 2024 and reports incomes in 2024 dollars. Pooling five years gives enough answers to report on small areas, down to single neighborhoods.

The city figures above cover each city’s legal limits as the Census Bureau draws them. For several of the largest cities, the linked city page describes the whole metro area, so its headline figure differs from the one above.

Every survey estimate has a margin of error. For cities this large, the margin is small next to the gaps between cities. For a single neighborhood the margin is wider, so treat small differences between neighborhoods as ties.

Median Household Income by State

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013: Median Household Income in the Past 12 Months. data.census.gov
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey: About the ACS. census.gov
  3. U.S. Census Bureau, Income: About. census.gov

Compiled by the BestNeighborhood data science team from U.S. Census Bureau data. The city figures are the Census Bureau’s published values, with no adjustment.