The U.S. Census Bureau has released its annual report on income in the United States.
According to data in the report, the median income of Black households in the United States in 2022 was $52,860. This is up from $52,080 in 2021. The median income figure shows the point where half of all families earn below this level and half earn above this level.
For non-Hispanic White households in 2022, the median income figure was $81,060, down from $84,111 in 2021. In 2021, the median Black household income was 61.9 percent of the median income of non-Hispanic White families. This is an increase from 59.7 percent in 2019 and 61.2 percent in 2020. In 2022, the income gap was 65.2 percent However, with only minor fluctuations, the racial gap in median income has remained virtually unchanged for more than a half-century.
It is also important to look at the racial gap in income at the highest levels. These families are ones that can afford to send their children to the college of their choice without having to worry about financial aid or student loans. Some 13.4 percent of non-Hispanic White households in 2022 had incomes above $200,000. For Black households, 6.0 percent had incomes of more than $200,000. Thus, Whites are far more likely than Blacks to come from high-income households.
