The median income is the
income
Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...
amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the
mean (or
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
) income. Both of these are ways of understanding
income distribution
In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes e ...
.
Median
The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...
income can be calculated by
household income, by
personal income, or for specific demographic groups. When
taxes and mandatory contributions are subtracted from income, the result is called net or disposable income. The measurement of income from individuals and households, which is necessary to produce statistics such as the median, can pose challenges and yield results inconsistent with aggregate national accounts data. For example, an academic study on the Census income data claims that when correcting for underreporting, U.S. median gross household income was 15% higher in 2010 (table 3).
Median equivalised disposable income (OECD)
See also
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Disposable household and per capita income
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Income distribution
In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes e ...
*
List of countries by average wage
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List of countries by wealth per adult
This is a list of countries of the world by wealth per adult, from UBS's ''Global Wealth Databook.'' See table 3-1 for all countries, on pages 123-126, for mean and median wealth, Gini coefficient, distribution of adults (%) by wealth range, ...
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List of countries by GNI per capita growth
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List of countries by real GDP per capita growth
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Median Household Income
Wage
Gross domestic product
Income in the United States
Household income lists
Macroeconomic indicators