EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, SEPTEMBER 1, 1998 (MONDAY) Public Information Office CB98-153 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Jack McNeil 301-457-3225 Modest Change in Median Household Income Since 1969 Makes Larger Changes in Income for Various Household Types, Census Bureau Says While the United State's overall median household income rose a modest 6 percent between 1969 and 1996, various types of households saw significantly larger changes during that same period, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. (The embargoed report, Changes in Median Household Income: 1969 to 1996, and tables can be accessed at<http://www.census.gov/dcmd/www/embargo/embargo.html>. After the release time, go to<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income.html>.) "When studying trends in household income," said Jack McNeil, the report's author, "it's important to know if the characteristics of households have changed. "In fact," McNeil said, "there have been substantial changes in the size and composition of households over the past few decades and income analysts ought to consider the effect of these changes when making statements about the growth or lack of growth in median household income. This new research indicates these changes have dampened the growth in overall household median income." A good deal of the growth in the total number of households from 1969 to 1996 was accounted for by single-parent and single-person households, the analyst said. These households accounted for 23 percent of all households in 1969 and 36 percent in 1996. Because these households have, on average, relatively low income levels, the net result has been a relatively stable overall median income level for the same time period when most types of households show a substantial gain, McNeil said. For example, the median income of married-couple households with children rose 25 percent from 1969 to 1996; for married-couple households without children, the jump was even greater 34 percent for households with a householder under 65 years old and 57 percent for households with a householder 65 years old and over. Other categories of households that showed a large gain in median income were women under 65 years old and living alone (35 percent) and men and women 65 years old and over living alone (63 percent each). The report also presents data on changes in education and employment levels and shows how changes in the earnings of wives affect the median income of married-couple households. (Income data for 1996, the most recent year available, and for previous years can be accessed at<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income.html>.) A faxed copy of the report may be obtained by calling the Public Information Office's 24-hour Fax-On-Demand service on 1-888-206-6463 and requesting Document No. 2168.-X-Editor's Note: The Public Information Office now has a media-access server for embargoed news releases and data sets. It is available to accredited media representatives only. To gain access, please contact us for a username and password. The media-access server's Internet address is<http://www.census.gov/dcmd/www/embargo/embargo.html>. We would appreciate any comments you may have about the site. The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In more than 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
