Household incomes throughout the U.S. stayed fairly flat between 2023 and 2024, with the national median household income rising just over 1%, according to Census Bureau estimates.
But in some cities, even a 1% increase would have seemed somewhat like a boon. The median household income declined in seven of the 50 largest U.S. cities between 2023 and 2024, a recent SmartAsset analysis of Census Bureau data found.
Incomes in Minneapolis fell by the largest percentage at just over 4%, bringing the median household income there down to $77,732 from around $81,000 in 2023, SmartAsset found.
Among households with children in Minneapolis, median incomes fell by over 19% between 2023 and 2024, per SmartAsset. That doesn’t necessarily mean families aren’t seeing the same wage gains other households are, though, says Jaclyn DeJohn, director of economic analysis at SmartAsset.
“While [the negative trend] may be indicative of families struggling to keep up with wage growth, it may also indicate other social or demographic trends,” she says.
