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US Income Percentile Calculator

Created by Wei Bin Loo
Reviewed by Dominik Czernia, PhD and Adena Benn
Based on research by
Sarah Flood, Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, J. Robert Warren, Michael Westberry Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 9.0;; 2021
Last updated: Jan 18, 2024


The US income percentile calculator is a handy tool for you to calculate your individual and household income percentile. This metric can help you understand where your income stands in society.

We have written this article to help you understand the meaning of income percentile, how to calculate it with your individual and household income, and the factors that will affect your individual and household income.

If you're interested in determining your yearly salary, make sure to check our annual income calculator.

What are individual and household income percentiles?

For starters, let's define what individual income and household income are. Individual income are earnings that you as an individual earn through your personal income sources. That's why it is often referred to as personal income. Household income, on the other hand, is the income earned by a group of people living under the same roof. Usually, this means a single family, so we often refer to household income as family income.

So, what are income percentiles, how to calculate percentiles? Income percentiles are a metric that allows you to compare your income to the society you are associated with. It can tell you how much better or worse you are on the income ladder compared to the people around you. Hence, knowing this will help you to better plan your financial future.

What percentile is my income? The US income percentile calculator

With our US income percentile calculator, you can find your US household income percentile and US individual income percentile in no time. Let's take Candy as our example:

  • Name: Candy
  • Nationality: U.S. citizen
  • Income type: Individual
  • Income: $100,000

There are only three steps involved:

  1. Determine the type of income that you want to analyze

    The first step is to determine if you want to analyze your individual or household income. Choose your income type using the drop-down list in our US income percentile calculator. For our example, Candy would like to analyze her individual income.

  2. Determine your income:

    After selecting the income type, insert the respective income value. Candy's income is $100,000.

  3. Look at your income percentile:

    The last step is to look at the results produced by our US income percentile calculator. We will tell you:

    • Your income percentile of the income type you have chosen;

    • If your income is higher or lower than the average income;

    • If your income is higher or lower than the median income (check out our median calculator to understand what median is); and

    • If your income is in the top 1% of U.S. citizens.

For this example, Candy's income is at the 84ᵗʰ percentile, which is higher than the average and median individual income. However, she is still not in the top 1% yet.

Now that you have the number, read the next section to understand how to interpret it.

How to interpret my individual and household income percentile?

So, the golden question is – how should you interpret your individual and household income percentile?

Using our US income percentile calculator is surprisingly easy, as we have already helped you work out your income percentile. Now, you just need to understand what the numbers mean.

Statistically speaking, the n-th percentile is the value that is higher than n% of the data in the whole dataset. You can also interpret it as lower than (100-n)% of the data in the dataset.

Let's say your household income is ranked at the 75th US household income percentile, which means your household income is higher than 75% of the households in the United States. Or, equivalently, your household income is lower than (100-75)% = 25% of the households in the United States.

FAQ

Can I have negative income?

No. Mathematically speaking, it is impossible to have a negative income as this will mean you are paying someone to work for them.

What is household income?

Household income is the income earned by a group of people who live in the same household or residence. Most of the time, it also represents the income of a family.

What is the meaning of individual income?

Individual income is the amount of money earned by a single individual from his wage, investments, etc. It is also often called personal income.

What factors affect an employee's income?

Your income is affected by various factors, which include:

  1. Education;
  2. Economy fluctuations;
  3. Type of job;
  4. Performance reviews;
  5. Supervisory requirements;
  6. Years of experience; and more.

What income percentile am I in with $50,000 income?

Your individual income is at the 55th percentile if you earn $50,000 a year based on the 2021 United States Census Bureau's Annual ASEC survey. That means that 55% of US citizens earn less than you and 45% more than you.

The median individual income in the US is $44,225, and the mean income is $63,214.

Wei Bin Loo
Choose the income type and insert the relevant income to compare your income to the citizens of the United States.
Income type
Individual
Income
$
Based on 2021 United States Census Bureau's Annual ASEC survey:
The median individual income is $44,225, and the mean individal income is $63,214.
The median household income is $67,463, and the mean household income is $96,955.
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